Infinite Stratos: Spirit of a Soldier
by Grayjedi-Productions
Summary: Slight AU and OC add: Kenneth Buyuu is a soldier under STARIS, the vanguard of humanity against rogue IS. A haunted past he wishes to forget, can he find refuge in the IS Academy in Japan? Completed
1. Meetings

**I do not own anything by IS: Infinite Stratos, all rights belong to Izuru Yumizuru, the original creator of the light novels of Infinite Stratos, the studio 8-Bit for the creation of the anime series, and Kenji Akahoshi for the creation of the manga series.**

**So before the start of this fanfiction, I will start to say that it will be slightly darker and realistic version of Infinite Stratos, (So yes, no lasers and the ISs will have thrusters) but there will still be humor and the funny interactions with Ichika and the harem. Also this will be a hybridization of the manga, anime and light novel series.**

**This is the introduction to a new character, an original character that...well I won't spoil it this earlier! Read and find out!**

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><p><strong>Location...Unknown...Time: 0215 AM ET. March 21, 2022<strong>

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><p><strong>(Main theme for the new character, Heaven's Divide, from the Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Soundtrack...trust me it will make alot more sense later in the story).<strong>

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><p>Lieutenant Colonel Cody Sanders sat patiently in his chair. A chrome color of white painted the room, with a large black table, surrounded by similar black chairs. A sealed door was directly in front of him. Time seemed to have froze in this room, despite the numerous creaking sounds of the water pressure against the hulls of the ship.<p>

_The Captain of the submarine knows how to keep the privacy_. Thought Sanders.

When the door closed, the room was created to have a faraday shield, locking any and all electromagnetic waves in the room, keeping whom ever inside imprisoned from the outside world. Or creating the perfect area for black-op discussions.

Sweat trailed down the Admiral's neck, this announcement could shake the entire world with modern day weapons and analysis. The past 10 years had been a blur of events with the invention of the prefect fighting machine, the Infinite Stratos. Multiple nations had switched to these battle mechs to create the greatest fighting force in the world, or the ultimate tool of destruction for neighboring countries.

After the famous "White Knight" IS defended Japan against thousands of ICBMs targeting every major city on the island nation, ironically on December 21, 2012, nations were literally begging for the even distribution of this power.

Finally, the Alaska Treaty was signed, regulating the creation of these new weapons of mass destruction. But the concept of peace being built upon these new types of weapons was akin to the creation of the atomic bomb; everybody wanted one. With nations gaining their own IS pilots, the motherland countries would replicate the data obtained from their representatives to mass produce their own IS mechs.

_Such was a fragile peace_, until the International Infinite Stratos Association was created. But even then, tensions behinds nations remained high with proxy wars and border skirmishes with IS machines in secret.

However, on January 3, 2013 leaders of the Permanent Security Council of the United Nations were contacted by a mysterious entity only know as "Janus". This "man" had literally handed the battle schematics of the "White Knight" IS to them. However, there was one catch. These nations were to serve as a vanguard for humanity against any and all rogue IS activity. A peace-keeper's program. With that, the Special Tactics Against Rogue Infinite Stratos or STARIS, was born.

The nations of STARIS were never under any good relationship with each other, such as the United States of America and Russia. However, private channels kept each other's program a secret. Nobody wanted to know what the other side was doing, and they respected that silence. They would simply know about the other's program's existence, but not how they worked.

Later on other nations deemed necessary by "Janus" eventually joined STARIS. Most the candidate pool was female, hoping that gender infiltration would not dramatically change, but there were a few able-bodied men in STARIS as well, working behind the scenes.

Equipped with Anti-IS weapons that were constantly a generation more powerful than the current IS level, STARIS has had a spotless record. Until a year ago. By the United States of America program under STARIS and the Central Intelligence Agency, the Scion Initiates or SI.

_A prefect reversal of the IS_. Sandler's mind trailed off. _But with current events accelerating..._ With a pneumonic hiss, the hatch opened, allowing the room to breathe. One by one, three figures stepped into the room, taking their respected seats.

The first was Commodore Samantha Adean , the coordinator of SI. A haggard look was shown on her face, radiating from her pale white skin to her formally brown hair. A violent scar traced her face from left forehead to her right lip. Looking at Sanders, she scowled, violently grabbing the water glass sitting on the table, drinking it down like no tomorrow.

"Women these days..." muttered the second figure, Captain Jordan Brian, the drill instructor of the SI soldiers, the man that combat trained every last one of the SI soldiers. A man of 35 years of age, he _is_ the father figure of all the SIs, even though he was also their greatest enemy. Catching the glare of Commodore Adean, the Captain simply rolled his eyes.

The final figure was Michaela Mayor, a Hispanic heritage women of 65 years of age. Though her hands, the Agency worked like a clock, which was expected; she is the new Deputy Director of the CIA and well versed with STARIS.

As the door once again sealed, Mayor was the first one to speak. "I hope you have a reason to bring us to the middle of nowhere."

"Ladies and gentleman, as we are aware of the current events of the IS units, we..."

"Not this again.." groaned Brian under his breathe.

"...Are aware of new male IS pilot of Japan, a man named Ichika Orimura."

"Yes, we are aware of this man, a younger brother of Chifuyu Orimura, the second-place of the International IS Tournament."

Sanders gently rested his hands on the table. "I believe it's about time that the SI project had redeemed itself from the incident a year ago."

"What are exactly trying to pull, LC?" questioned Adean, looking skeptical. "We're already training Natasha Fairs in the Silver Gospel to deal with these sorts of things...:"

"The situation with that training is being postponed." stated Brian. "She is being petitioned for a co-ops training in Hawaii with Israel." Adean shot Brian with a dirty look, looking as those she's been held out of the information loop.

"That is not the matter of the conversation, Adean." scowled Mayor, getting the meeting back on track. "The important part is what do you plan to do, LC?"

Sanders breathed in for a second, "I suggest we sent in Midshipman Kenneth Buyuu to the IS Academy."

Dead silence filled the room as the three figures tried to connect their thoughts. Sanders swallowed hard.

"Interesting.." said Mayor, a touch of softness in her eyes.

"The Son of the Three?" questioned Adean. "You know what happened a year ago with that kid. He should have been kicked from the program and killed on the spot."

Brian scoffed. "As if you could do anything to bring him down."

"It's a redeeming move I'll admit." continued Mayor. "Gutsy, even. Especially since he was the one who caused the incident." Sanders internally sighed relief, he was getting somewhere with them.

"I really don't see him blending in with IS Academy in Japan though." rebuked Adean. "His temperament with IS pilots and even fellow members of SI had become... sociopathic. Do you want the IS Academy to suddenly explode?"

"He's changed." reassumed Brian. "It only took a month after Operation Zulu, but he has become more stable." Mayor looked at Brian, seeing if he was lying. He wasn't.

Adean cupped her face with both of her hands, trying to play Devil's Advocate. "If he truly has changed," she started, looking at Brian. "Then why does he seem so... distant now?"

Brian shrugged. "Even though his anger is gone, he still believes that he should have died during Operation Zulu. He said that the critical failure with the squad was nearly 100% and that mission details and ill equipment support that fact."

Adean cracked a smile. "Still mission oriented I see?"

Mayor looked satisfied, although a bit tired. "If that's the case, then this meeting is adjourned." Mayor stood up from her chair, along with Adean. The two hurried out of the room, leaving Brian and Sanders left.

"Abit of a hypocrite if you ask me." said Sanders.

"I wouldn't blame her." replied Brian. "Adean's a hard-ass, but she also takes blame on how Buyuu became what he was a year ago."

"Execution is extreme though."

As the two gathered their stuff in silence. After a minute, Sanders, looking up, saw Brian looking at him with general concern.

"Cody." he said. " Though I don't agree with Adean, I have to say my worries. It's almost a year after that incident. Sending Buyuu to the IS Academy during this time might break him. I'm not so sure about how it will affect his mental health... or the general health of the IS Academy."

Sanders walked up to Brian putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm aware. But what you told me after Buyuu calmed down, he's been trying to run away from that fact a year ago."

"But sending him now? Just a few days before?"

"If he ever to become normal again, he must live beyond what happened a year ago. We cannot change the past, but we had help change his future."

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><p><strong>So here's where I will make this Fanfiction slightly AU.<strong>

**This fiction will be more mature than anything else. So I believe that the story will reflect that, by upping the age of the characters to 17-18 year olds. (FYI, I never understood how 15-16 years would be given the firepower of a battletank... That does seem abit over the top in my opinion anyways)**


	2. First day

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything by IS: Infinite Stratos. Or any other referenced material. However original characters belong to me, Gray-Jedi Productions.**

**The beginning of my fanfiction with an original character!**

**Read, review and enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Monorail, Japan...0655 Local Time...March 22, 2022<strong>

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><p><strong>(Main theme is still Heaven's Divide from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker...Trust me, it'll make more sense as the story continues)<strong>

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><p><em>Dirty Basements, Dirty Noise<em>

_Dirty places coming throu...*click*_

Kenneth Buyuu hung his head as he paused the music coming from his IPhone. Looking through the tinned glass, he saw a large cathedral-like structure in all white, with the holograms of a symbol emblazed on every corner, the "White Knight" IS of Japan.

The IS Academy.

An island-enclosed school, this place more suitable for a beach resort than anything else. An impressive view that would leave anyone awe struck right? Wrong. Kenneth felt the exact opposite.

_Why the hell did they choose me for this assignment?_ Though Buyuu. _They know of the vow that I made a year ago..._

Buyuu let out a groan, watching the hologram TV in front of him, gulfing any sentient thought.

"...In other news, another male IS pilot is has been discovered, hailing from the United States of America. Kenneth Buyuu, a young man of 18 years of age, is being transferred over to the IS Academy for advance training and tactics, along with the first male IS pilot Ichika Orimura." said the news anchor.

Buyuu knew that it was all in Japanese, and understood it well; he could speak like a native. Buyuu was a normal looking young man, a well-built body from training under the SI program for 11 years. His hair was light brown, slightly longer than any military classifications, but his superiors had no objection against it; SI was completely out of the regulations. If anything, he looked like any normal 18 year old, not entirely handsome, but a good-looking find, as the female SI soldiers said. But with anyone in the SI, the initiates knew they were anything but "normal".

Injected with hormones, and new biomedical engineering technologies with nanomachines, the initiates were transformed into "super-humans", able-bodied men and women outfitted with counter infantry, armor and IS capabilities. As with the name Scion Initiate, part of their bodies were removed and replaced with high-tech biological implants. For Buyuu's case, it was his entire left arm, hand and all. A slick-silver shine reflected from the prosthetic.

Buyuu gripped the artificial limb. _A curse if anything...but a necessary one._ From this implant, Buyuu gained access to multiple applications of military espionage: full spectrum cloaking, instantaneous anti-IS weapons, a full battle suit that mimicked the IS battle suits, and his favorite, the Full Body Modifier, or FBM.

With any of the SI soldier, they spent too much time fiddling around with the FBM, disguising themselves as others, for shits and giggles. The FBM mimicked anyone complete, physically speaking. With the men, they always disguised themselves as women, having too much time with the breast physics.

The monorail came to a halt, opening the side doors. Kenneth walked out, putting a hood up to conceal his face. There was no need to start an uproar this early. Rushing to a dark alley, Kenneth's hand projected a hologram of a Caucasian female. Smiling at the choice, he slapped his arms together. A bright light illuminated the corner.

...

Stepping from the alley was a young women in a classic IS Academy uniform. Long brown hair reached down to her shoulders. Whipping her hair in a military bun, she sighed looking at her left arm and breasts.

_Well, _she (Kenneth) hummed._ This will do for now._

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><p><strong>IS Academy, Near Room 1-1...0655 Local Time<strong>

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><p>With the FBM on, Kenneth waited for the informant to come by. Multitudes of women walked past him, smiling a little. The first year students were gawking about the IS suits, when they start to use them, blah blah blah.<p>

_IS's aren't toys, girls_. Though Kenneth, with a fiery passion. _They are weapons of mass destruction, I've seen them work first hand._

Images started swelling him mind, the hallway shifting white. _No...not now._

_Don't blame anyone else, _said a voice, _the true culprits are out there, not these young women...Please stay human, show them that we are not..._

The scene changed to a destroyed IS factory, covered in snow. A young man stood cradling a fallen female soldier, gore and blood splattered across his face, a shattered IS in the background, with other SI soldiers on the cold cement. As he raised his head, he yelled, a cry for the loss of humans.

_" I SWEAR" he started "ANY **IS **THAT COMES BEFORE ME WILL FEEL MY PAIN!"_

A tall women stood before Kenneth, getting his attention before he was lost in memory.

"You going to class?" she said.

Kenneth stared at her for a moment. It was Chifuyu Orimura, second place in the recent Mondo Grosso tournament.

"I uhhh..." said Kenneth, knowing that the FBM would change his voice, "am waiting for someone."

"I see." Chifuyu crept closer to "her" ear, "Kilo Bravo code number 135."

"The codes" whispered Buyuu, deactivating the FBM.

Chifuyu saw the young girl dissipated into Kenneth. The young man in front of her was in a modified IS Academy uniform with camouflage colors of white and gray.

"So you're the informant." Kenneth said, quickly snapped to attention.

"At ease, Midshipman." she said. "I see that SI wishes to become slightly more present with the IS Academy?"

"I'm just a grunt ma'am. I do whatever they wish."

Chifuyu stared at Buyuu for a second, scanning over him. "I don't agree with you watching over my little brother, but Command wishes it, so I'm in no position to say otherwise."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Please, call me Orimura-sensei."

"Very well...Orimura-sensei."

She walked inside, signaling Kenneth to stay outside. He watched from the window of the door, Ichika was in the first row, and a women with green hair was taking attendance. _Huh, must have dyed it that way._ Thought Kenneth

With enhanced hearing from the augments, the girl haired one said. "We have a new student transferring into his class!" She then motioned towards the door.

Buyuu stepped in, as the girls gasped with excitement and shock. Buyuu stopped in front of the class, and with precision, saluted to the class.

_Talk about an estrogen brigade_. He thought. "I am Kenneth Buyuu, a representative of the USA. A pleasure to meet you all."

All at once, the girls squealed with joy.

"Another guy in the class!"

"Forget Ichika, I want this one!"

"He's so polite!"

"Sit next to me!"

Buyuu sighed heavily. _This will be a long day..._

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><p><strong>1230 Hours-IS Academy-Cafeteria<strong>

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><p>Girls swarmed Kenneth's lunch table to his annoyance.<p>

"So where did you live before?" asked one girl.

"San Diego." Kenneth grunted, trying to eat his sandwich.

"Not really much of talker huh?"

"...Yes." Kenneth glazed over at the table adjacent. Ichika was simply eating his lunch with some lady-friend of his. Part of the assignment was for Kenneth to watch over Ichika during the school periods, since he was a classmate. After-school hours were reserved for other details, such as surveillance and updates with the rest of STARIS.

Kenneth scanned over the girls surrounding him. There was simply no way that he would be able to escape the attention without cloaking in front of them.

Kenneth deeply sighed as the girls continued to ask him about himself.

"He's so reserved!"

"So mysterious!"

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><p><strong>1445 Hours-IS Academy-Room 1-1<strong>

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><p>"So you're Kenneth, huh?" said Ichika, packing his things in a backpack.<p>

"Yeah... that's me." he grunted.

"I'm heading off with Houki to kendo training" motioned Ichika to a long haired brunette with a pony tail, "You want to come?"

"Sorry but no."

Ichika shrugged his shoulders "Alright, see ya." Ichika and the girl Houki walked out the room.

Kenneth was about to leave, until he was blocked by an British-looking woman, her hair kept back by a bandana and in curls.

"So you're the cadet representative of the USA?" she pointed at him. Buyuu tried to get past her, but she continued to block his way.

"No, I'm just a representative of the US, nothing more." Kenneth grunted, grabbing her shoulder to push her out of the way. She slapped his hand off her shoulder.

"How rude! I'm Cecilia Alcott, the cadet representative of Great Britain! You should show you're superiors some respect!"

Kenneth rolled his eyes, not interested with what she said. "Listen lady, I haven't a care in the world who you are, but I have training to deal with, so move out of the way!"

"You should!" she yelled in Kenneth's face. "I am the greatest IS pilot this school has in the first year! I even defeated the instructor of the entrance exam!"

"Really? So did I." rebuked Buyuu.

"What? How did you do it!"

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><p>(Approximately One Year Ago)<p>

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><p>Kenneth saw a women of 31 years of age standing on a cliff side of the Grand Canyon.<p>

_Instructor Katrina O'Brian._ Kenneth thought. _Order's to arrest. Lethal force encouraged. _

Kenneth crept up from behind her, making his present clear, but she did not turn towards him.

"Katrina O'Brian." he started. "I am Kenneth Buyuu, a representative of the International Infinite Stratos Association. You are under arrest for illegal dealings. You may come quietly."

She shifted towards him. Her eyes softened for abit.

_A kid?_ She thought.

Kenneth's eyes stayed fixated on her.

"Hmmm..." she hummed, cheerfully. Quickly deploying the right arm of her IS, she shot a particle beam from a deployed rifle. A puff of smoke exploded from where he was standing.

"Never send a man for a women's job!" she said, fully deploying her IS armor, watching the smoke cloud dissipate. A figure shifted in the smoke. Katrina looked cockeyed into the smoke. A Black IS-looking armor encased the man, an shimming red shield radiating around the armor.

"All those who look at a member of STARIS... shall be silenced." he said. Katrina saw his eyes piecing her. From the usual brown color, his eyes have changed to harsh ice grey color.

"What are you!" she yelled, charging at him at full speed.

Kenneth quickly sidestepped her charge, deploying a pronged blade at his elbows, impaling the instructor. Retracting the blade, Kenneth smashed her to the ground, leaving an impact crater. With his armor boots on her chest, he withdrew a sniper rifle from his back.

"Wha...What are you?" she coughed, spitting up blood, fear inscribed in her eyes.

A sadistic grin crept from ear to ear on Kenneth as he rested the barrel of the rifle on her temple. "No one of great importance."

***Thomph***

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><p>"I shot her. Now get out of my way." he said smugly, brushing past her.<p>

"Such insolence!" she yelled. Now every girl remaining in the class stared at both of them. "I challenge you to a duel! Tomorrow, after school!"

Buyuu had a slight grin spread from ear to ear. _So that's the way it's going to be, eh?_

"Fine, tomorrow after school."

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><p><strong>Room 1026- Kenneth's room.<strong>

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><p>"So this is your room!" said the green haired woman.<p>

Buyuu scanned the room, a two bed suite with a view of the river outside. Two desks for studying. Overall, a hell of a lot better than the barracks back home on Coronado Island, the secret base of the SI program.

"Excuse me, but I don't think I introduced myself. I am Maya Yamada, the homeroom teacher of Chifuyu!"

"Why is there two beds in here?" asked Buyuu.

"Well, we are still trying to get the sleeping arrangements correct." said Yamada, scratching her head.

"That would be all, Ms. Yamada. Thank you for escorting me to my room." he bowed.

"If you need anything, Ichika Orimura is right next door, just ask him for anything!"

She closed the door, as she left. Buyuu simply collapsed on the bed in front of him. _This will be a long half year_. He thought. _Ha, but at least I have a competition tomorrow...haha. These girls will understand the power of the Scion Initiates..._


	3. Let's go greet

**Disclaimer: I do not know anything by IS: Infinite Stratos, and other referenced merchandise/items in the fanfiction. However, original characters all belong to me, Grayjedi-Productions...**

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><p><strong>March 23, 2022- 0615-IS Academy Main Dorm Hall<strong>

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><p><strong>(Main theme is Heaven's Divide from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker...Trust me, it'll make more sense as the fanfiction continues)<strong>

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><p>Ichika woke up to the sound of Houki humming in the shower. A simple lullaby piece filled the air, giving Ichika peace. He lay in bed, soaking in Houki's tune.<p>

_Ah, Houki, you haven't changed one bit..._ Though Ichika.

As Ichika got himself ready for school, he stepped outside the room, making sure that no other girl was awake in the hallway. He found Kenneth's room, room 1025, with a note attached to the door handle.

_Ichika,_

_I got up at 0500, and when off on a morning run._

_I'll see you in class,_

_Kenneth Buyuu_

"He's a strange man." said Ichika aloud, turning around back to his room. "I wonder where he went to."

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><p><strong>0617-IS Academy, Park Track<strong>

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><p>With his IPod in, Kenneth was lost to the exercise he created for himself, sprint back and forth 300 meters. Starting about a hour ago, Kenneth was focused in his training; push ups, pull ups from a tree branch, crunches and a sprint run. In the back of his mind, it was soon to be the anniversary of the Zulu Mission, the mission where he had led a team of eight SI soldiers to destroy an illegal IS factory.<p>

With the last of Kenneth's sprints done, he slammed his back on a nearby tree, breathing heavily. He closed his eyes, trying to find peace before going back to the dorm to shower and get ready for school.

"Buyuu, what are you doing?" said a female voice.

Swinging his left arm around, materializing a stun round SMG in hand, Kenneth searched for the voice. With enhanced vision, Buyuu scanned the area, until he found Chifuyu Orimura leaning against a tree.

"Well, that's no way to meet an officer." she said jokingly. Kenneth calmed himself, lowering the SMG until it dematerialized.

"Buyuu, come with me." she continued, as she started walking back to the IS Academy.

"Ma'am, with all due respect, I thought I was the only one outside at this hour." apologized Kenneth.

"Buyuu, speak off-the-record, this is no time for formalities."

"Very well, what is it?"

"During your little exercise, I saw that your eyes changed from brown, to an ice grey color. Is this an upgrade from the SI Program?"

"Yes. Yes it is." It was true; after the implantation of synthetic body parts, SI soldiers instructors needed a way to know how battle ready their soldiers were. The more focused an SI pilot was, their eye colored changed to a ice grey color. With several missions, the SI soldiers gained the reputation of "silver-eyed warriors."

"Either way, what's troubling your mind, Buyuu?" Chifuyu said. "Your running stance seemed to me that you were running away from something."

Kenneth, startled that he was starting to show his true emotions, stood in place. He felt his mind accelerate back a year ago.

"0430 hours, it was a blizzard..." he whispered

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><p><strong>March 23, 2021- 0430- Illegal IS Factory, Eastern Russia, near Murmansk<strong>

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><p>"Alright, move in." ordered Kenneth.<p>

Eight SI soldiers approached the IS factor in a blizzard. Still fresh from their bio-augmentations, the soldiers had an air of new life. Two guards stood outside a metal door, smoking a cigarette.

"Adrian, take them out." A young woman, Angel Adrian took out a Backburner Sniper Rifle, and quickly fired two rounds. The guards stood rigid for a second, then slumped on the snowy ground.

"That seemed abit of overkill, if you ask me." remarked a fellow SI soldier. "You're also playing too much of the 'engaged' card with her."

"Just wait until we have our biomechanical augmentations, then it'll be a curb stomp." replied Angel. "And that's none of your business."

"Quiet, both of you." ordered Kenneth. "Move in."

As the eight approached the factor, one other soldier said. "Does it seem abit strange? Only two guards?"

"It's a slightly abandoned factory from the Cold War Era, it's made to be inconspicuous." replied another.

The eight stood at a standard position at the door. "Ramirez, flash bang grenade, in the door."

He slowly slid the door open, rolling a flash bang grenade. A short BANG was heard, and the SI soldiers moved in. Littered all over the factory where thousands of illegal parts, prototype missiles and in the back, a fully built heavily modified Russian IS, second generation- chernyĭ veter, or "Black Wind".

"Plant the C4 across the factory, we'll blow this place sky high." As the operatives started C4, the blizzard outside started to slow.

After 15 minutes the operatives were done. "We done now?" Kenneth asked.

"We got everything, even the Russian IS." As the soldiers left towards the door, a low rumble echoed across the room...

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><p><strong>Present Time<strong>

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><p>"No, I won't go any further with the story... it's too painful." said Buyuu, his eyes filling with tears.<p>

"Calm down, Midshipman. Your eyes are changing to grey again." said Chifuyu.

"I...I'm sorry." He lowered his head.

"But happened after?"

"The whole thing was a step-up, the Russian IS was the true guard of the factory. We dashed out of the factory, activating the C4 as soon as we got out.

"Four didn't make to there, the IS shot them in the back. By the end it was Adrian and me fighting the IS. Adrian had a specialized IS with her, but even then she was overwhelmed. I took a RPG from the bodies of my allies and took down the IS, killing her with anti-shielding rounds from my SMG. But Adrian was already bleeding out...She never made it back to base..."

Chifuyu closed her eyes, and patted Kenneth on the shoulder. "I understand."

"It was a suicide mission. Intel dropped the ball on this one, we had no idea that heavily modified IS was guarding the factory. It's...its my fault we...we ran in blind to this..." Tears started rolling down Kenneth's face.

Chifuyu changed the subject. "I have authorized the release of several information of the SI program, Buyuu."

"Why?"

"If the SI wants to redeem itself in the world, they will need to have a better public view. Anything in the IS Academy stays within the Academy."

"Very well."

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><p><strong>1235- IS Academy, Cafeteria<strong>

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><p>"Sorry for not introducing myself properly to you guys." said Kenneth, holding out his hand. "Kenneth Buyuu, pleased to meet you."<p>

Ichika grabbed his, and firmly shook. "Ichika Orimura, a pleasure."

"Houki Shinonono."

Kenneth looked at Houki awkwardly. "Shinonono? As in Tabane Shinonono?"

Houki's brows slanted "Yes..."

"I understand; you don't want to talk about it." said Kenneth. The three sat down at a table.

"So how did they find you?" asked Ichika, slurping down some ramen.

"I actually am part of an experimental group." explained Kenneth, fooling around with some chopsticks. "The experiment was to see if male IS pilots could be found. I was the only one."

"So for how long has this been going?"

"Roughly... five years." _Just like what Chifuyu Orimura said, just a few details._

"Wow..." they both gasped. "So what did they exactly do though?"

Kenneth shrugged. "Basic military training, and whatnot. Education was pretty normal if you ask me. All my friends were from the program; we never really got to go beyond our training camps."

A soft beeping in Kenneth's ear started. "If you'll excuse me for the moment." said Kenneth, standing up grabbing his lunch.

As he started to walk away, Houki and Ichika looked at each other. "Do you get the feeling that he's hiding something?" asked Ichika.

"I think so, it's like he's trying to push back something in his mind." said Houki.

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><p><strong>1730-IS Academy Stadium: Hanger Two<strong>

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><p>Cecilia Alcott was battle ready, her IS- <em>Blue Tears<em>- in full working order. A sniper class IS of the third generation, it was the perfect long-range fighter. Optical drones, a particle beam rifle and missile pods, Blue Tears was designed for long-range combat.

"Find information on Kenneth Buyuu's IS." she said to the on-board tactical computer.

"Kenneth Buyuu. Uses the IS _Shadow Dance... _All other information is blocked."

"Fine, it matters not." Cecilia said. "Launch!" Cecilia blasted out of the hanger, holding her position in the sky.

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><p><strong>1732-IS Academy Stadium-Hanger One (The Pit)<strong>

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><p>"Well she's an early bird." commented Ichika, as he watched Cecilia from the holoscreen.<p>

"I'm not surprised to say the least." replied Buyuu.

"Abit arrogant if you ask me." pointed out Houki.

"Buyuu, you ready?" said Chifuyu from the command booth. Buyuu started towards the launching track in the hanger.

"Ichika, you might want to pay attention. You have your match for class representative in a few days, right?"

Houki punched Ichika on the shoulder. "I hope that you listen to him." she said.

"Don't worry, I'm taking notes on this." Ichika replied half-jokingly. "We'll be in the command booth. Good Luck!"

As the two left the hanger, Buyuu raised his left arm, activating the SI armor. A radiate blue light shinned, blinding the command booth. Once the light stopped, Buyuu was encased in the SI armor.

_The Three always joked that it looks like slightly like the Wing Gundam_. Thought Buyuu.

The SI had a pitch-black finish, and mini-mechanical glider wings for thruster support. Hulking shoulder guards extended from the main body chassis. A neural interface helmet rested on Buyuu's head, mimicking the security helmet from the popular game _Halo:Reach_. Although the SI armors were slightly smaller than the standard IS of the late second generation, they packed more firepower than they showed.

"This is Midshipmen Kenneth Buyuu... Launching!" Kenneth felt the acceleration of the SI take-off, into the stadium...


	4. Versus Britain's Cecelia Alcott

**Disclaimer: I do not know anything by IS: Infinite Stratos, and other referenced merchandise/items in the fanfiction. However, original characters all belong to me, Grayjedi-Productions...**

**A/N: If I put quotations over a persons name, they are clones... it will make more sense in context if you read. **

**Read, Review and Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>1735-IS Academy Stadium- Battlegrounds<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>(Main theme is Heaven's Divide from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker...Trust me, it'll make more sense as the fanfiction continues)<strong>

* * *

><p>Kenneth flew out of the hanger and into position above the stadium. Scores of girls littered the stands, watching the Cecilia and him standoff. Some were holding posters of Cecilia's name, others of his name.<p>

_Talk about a fanbase_. Though Kenneth, looking at the stands. A group of girls holding a "**GO KENNY**!" poster, starting waving at him.

"I'm giving you one last chance, Ken." Cecilia said, getting Kenneth's attention. "Admit I'm better, and I might go easy on you."

"Fat chance!"

Cecilia raised her particle rifle, taking aim and fired at Kenneth. Watching her muscle movement, Kenneth lifted his arms to cover his body from the blast. The particle beam zipped from the rifles barrel, only to be scattered away from Kenneth's SI armor.

"Impo...Impossible!" Cecilia screamed.

Kenneth slid down his arms, resting them in a combat-stance. "Come'on, love. You have to try better than that."

* * *

><p><strong>1737-IS Academy- Command Booth<strong>

* * *

><p>Rapid images of the two machines squared off, flying from corner to corner of the stadium, in all directions. Cecilia had just released her combat drones to chase down Kenneth, but no matter how fast they were, he was always stayed three steps ahead.<p>

"He's not even wielding a weapon...not even fighting back...What's he up to?" asked Yamada.

Houki and Ichika stood in silence, observing the Cecilia trying to get a lock on Kenneth.

"Ugh." Chifuyu said as she cupped her face with her palm.

"What is it sis...er... Orimura-sensei?" asked Ichika.

"He's not even trying...This is part of his training, 'Slow Ignition'."

"So wait, then what is he doing then?" Houki said, tilting her head.

"He's trying to enjoy the battle as much as possible. See his grin? He's about to half-shift."

* * *

><p><strong>1740-IS Academy- Battlegrounds<strong>

* * *

><p>"Stop moving you eye-sore!" commanded Cecilia, as she moved her combat drones towards Kenneth.<p>

"Fine." he grunted. Just then, Kenneth started descending to the ground level of the stadium.

"Ha! Cornered yourself!" A ball of blue energy blasted out of Cecilia's rifle, directly hitting him. Following up, Cecelia launched two missiles hitting the cloud where Kenneth was.

"Haha, the end of the match." giggled Cecilia at the sight of a black smoke cloud. But as the smoke cleared, Buyuu stood staring at Cecilia, with ice grey eyes.

"_Alright partner..._" Kenneth growled, a voice that wasn't his own._ "Keep on Rollin' baby... You know time it is..."_

Throwing out his arms, Kenneth emitted a bright orange light sphere around himself, his armor creating an impenetrable shield. A rock song started in the mist of the chaos, building up in intensity. Swirling rapidly in a sphere, machine pieces from Kenneth's armor created a piecing metal shriek.

_Ladies and Gentlemen!_

At the end of those words, the light withdrew. Cecelia stared in horror.

In front of her, stood an exact copy of herself in her _Blue Tears _IS. However, there was a morphed difference with it. Instead of four wings that housed the optical drones, there were six wings. Quad missiles pods sat proudly behind the armor. The color had become a darker shade of blue, completely removing any light color from it, as well as completely encasing the user.

In the middle stood a blonde-haired women with curls. A target locator over her right eye, she looked fierce. Except Cecelia had seen his person before. It was _herself._

_Chocolate Starfish!_

Opening "her" eyes, the Cecelia clone pieced back at the original. Instead of Cecelia usual blue eyes, they were replaced with same ice grey eyes Kenneth had. Smirking, "she" materialized twin particle beam rifles in each hand, slapped them together and took aim.

_Oh shit..._

* * *

><p><strong>1741-IS Academy- Command Booth<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Now I know ya'll be lovin' this SHIT RIGHT HERE!<em>

"What the hell just happened?" yelled Ichika and Houki.

"Buyuu's main shift is 'Shadow Dancer', his IS becomes the opponent, mimicking everything. He takes the strengths of the enemy and pushes it to the extreme."

"Buyuu's IS is built for infiltration, quick takedowns during his time in the military. And this works even in long fights. But this... this is just cruel. He's deliberately missing his attacks."

Houki and Ichika watched as Cecelia was helplessly dodging Kenneth's assault, following the steps that Kenneth wanted her to follow, with drones and beams.

* * *

><p><strong>1743-IS Academy- Stadium Battlegrounds<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Hey Ladies, Hey Fellas<em>

_And the people that DON'T GIVE A FUCK!_

Cecilia twisted and turned around the laser bolts, trying to fly away from the bolts.

_I gotta fight back!_ Thought Cecilia. But to no avail. She just couldn't get a moment's rest. During the entire battle, the music played, as her clone moved along with the music. _Suggestively_ at times.

Abandoning the rifles and drones, "Cecelia" charged at her counterpart, wielding an attachment blade on each arm. Swinging rapidly, Cecelia barely dodged blades.

_Keeping Rollin', Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'_

_Breathe in, now Breath out!_

Backing off, "Cecelia" outstretched her arms, blades parallel to the ground. "She" suddenly started spinning and heading over in the primes' direction.

_For fuck's sake! How is he doing this?_ thought Cecelia, boosting out of the way of the bladed wing of death.

Cecelia got a enough distance away from her clone. Quickly grabbing her particle rifle, she shot at the clone, creating a puff of black smoke as the music started to settle.

"Is it over?" Cecilia heavily gasped, finally resting.

"Nope, this is lights out!" said voice behind her. The Cecilia clone grabbed her by the shoulders, flipped her around and jabbed her with both blades...

* * *

><p><strong>Buyuu's Point of View<strong>

* * *

><p><em>The terrain faded to black. The obscurities of reality, the noise, the people, faded to the background. <em>What happened?_ I though. I noticed that I was out of my SI armor, only wearing my classic Scion Initiate Battle Dress. A soft cry echoed in the darkness_.

Who's there? _Listening to the cry, I ran towards the source. In front of me stood a young girl, crying in front of two corpses. She collapsed on them, crying her heart out as thousands of hands extended from the darkness, trying to grab her. I tried getting close to her, but an invisible barrier blocked me from getting close. From her blonde hair, I recognized her; it was a young Cecilia Alcott._

_The background slowly morphed, showing a young Cecilia studying in a poorly-lit room, studying law and legality, next to her a script of her parents property_. _Several lawyers bickered with one another behind her. _ No wonder she's abit of a hardass...

_Again, the scene changed, showing Cecilia being accepted into the IS Academy. Next to her was a representative of the Academy. _

So does this mean that my parent's property will stay mine? _she questioned. The rep smiled back._

Yes, until you graduate. _Cecilia grabbed on to rep, squeezing her, never to left go..._

* * *

><p><strong>Cecilia's Point of View<strong>

* * *

><p><em>I closed my eyes in fear, the fire that I saw through Kenny's eyes could have sliced through metal. I waited for the hit to come, but it never did. A light breeze started to chill my skin. <em>

Snow? _I thought. The sky was a pure white, raining down little flakes of snow. I was no longer in my IS, but still floating. In the background, a broken down factory, with smoke coming out of it. Four people emerged from a door. _

Move! Move! _The lead one yelled. I saw his long hair extending out of his helmet. _That must be Ken_. I thought. The factory collapsed in a fiery explosion, scattering the factory's roof to the landscape. _

We lost Ramirez, Freeman, Marcus and Strout. _One of the soldiers said. Kenneth only stared back at the exploded factory._ Sir, they're gone, we got the green evac smoke.

Pop it. _Kenneth said. From the factory, a purple laser cut down two other soldiers, leaving Kenneth and another still alive. A large Russian IS emerged from the flames, landing on the dead soldiers_.

Время, чтобы умереть. _The pilot said, aiming her cannon at Buyuu. The second soldier transformed into an IS battle armor, fist-fighting the Russian IS. Both tried to grab for extra weapons, but the other smashed the weapon away, leaving the two ISs in a fist-fight. The Russian IS grabbed Kenneth by the left arm as he tried to crawl away, squeezing them as I heard the loud crunch of his bones, and his screams. The other pilot charged at the Russian, tossing Buyuu several yards away from them, landing in another soldiers spilled guts. As the girls continued to fight, Kenneth crawled through the fallen soldier, still gripping an SMAW, or at least I believe that's what it's called.._

_As hard as the American pilot fought, she was outmatched. The Russian extended a small blade from her hands, piecing through the shields and into chest of the American. She fell as the Russian retracted the blade, jumping on top of her, physically beating her up_.

Я убью тебя с кулаками! _The Russian pilot yelled. Buyuu grabbed the RPG and fired at the Russia, blasting her off his comrade, shattering the Russian chest chassis and wings. Buyuu stumbled to get up, wielding a small SMG. As he got in front of the Russian, Cecilia saw Buyuu's face, filled with tears, and blood. _

_The Russian pilot laid prone on the ground, coughing up blood. I saw a blood red eye color radiate from her iris. She spat blood at Buyuu's face._ Ha, you lose._ She said defiantly. Buyuu without a hint of remorse, unloading his entire clip at the Russian. Turning his attention, he ran stumbled back to his friend, cradling her up._

Angel, you lost alot of blood._ He said._ I got a got a med-pack with me, stay awake

No, Kenny, I lost too much, use it for yourself._ she said. _

Come'on, baby we made it this far, don't go dying on me!

Kenny, it's not your fault. Don't blame anyone else. The true culprits are out there, not these young women. She was indoctrinated, you could see that in her eyes...Please...stay human...show them that the IS and SI are not just...

Angel? Darling?_ He cried into her chest, openly sobbing on the snow covered fields._

I SWEAR, ANY **IS** THAT COMES BEFORE ME WILL FEEL MY PAIN!

_A short transition showed Buyuu, holding the dog-tags of his squad, in front on a wall, littered with pins of a shield, crossed with two swords in the back. From Buyuu's face, a tear rolled down his cheek_.

Wait...why do I feel like I'm falling?

* * *

><p><strong>Standard Point of View-1754 Hours<strong>

* * *

><p>The blades pieced Cecilia's shields, and deactivated her IS armor, causing her to freefall.<p>

_That was an out of body experience_. Buyuu thought, as his head regained clarity, and his eyes resetting to a brown. He watched Cecilia's body start falling to the stadium.

"OH SHIT! CECILIA!" Buyuu powered his back thrusters, forcibly overriding the "Shadow Dancer" shift, diving to catch up with Cecilia. Just before Cecilia was 7 feet from the ground, Buyuu grabbed her, resting her in between his arms.

Ichika, Houki, Maya and Chifuyu ran towards them on the field. "Is she ok?" all but the latter yelled in unison.

Buyuu ran a quick diagnostic with his left arm. A pop-up screen appeared before his eyes. "She's fine, just knocked out."

Kenneth looked directly at Chifuyu. "Ma'am, I wish to transport her to her room." he said.

* * *

><p><strong>Cecilia Alcott's Room- 1910 hours<strong>

* * *

><p>Cecilia woke with a start. Quickly looking around, she was in her bed, clothed in her best night gown. Next to the bed, a chair with Kenneth sitting on it, head slouched over, as if he was patiently waiting in prayer.<p>

"I'm glad to see that you're awake." he said, without lifting his head.

"Wha...what happened?"

"My attack knocked you out cold, I carried you back to your room." Buyuu seemed abit distracted.

"I see...Before I was knocked out, I saw what happened in your past."

Buyuu was startled back, but quickly gain his composure. "You... you did?"

"You couldn't do anything to save your squad. No one could have saw that Russian."

_So she knows of Operation Zulu... My true death place..._Buyuu's eyes started tearing up. "If only I had acted sooner."

Cecelia, though in pain, reached over to him. "You lost someone that close to your heart that day didn't you?"

"Angel Adrian." he whispered. "I would have been dating her for 3 years if it wasn't for that Russian." His eyes started shifting to a dull grey.

"We both have lost people dear to us."

Buyuu waved his hand in hand, brushing off Cecelia's hand. "At least you can protect whatever you have left. There's only 5 other people like me left from a class of 100 for my year. But what has that reduced me to? I'm a little prick with a large attitude problem."

Buyuu sighed for a moment. "But I also saw your past too. Both your parents...I'm sorry."

Cecilia laid back on her bed. "I know. But we both fight, through thick and rough... and that is what drives us both. A purpose."

Silence hung between the two as a nearby clock ticked away time.

"Buyu...Kenny? Can you teach me how to maximize the power of the Blue Tears?"

Kenneth looked away, as if he was trying to push her away. "I could, why do you want that?"

"To become stronger, to overcome what has happened in the past, and hope for the future."

Kenneth thought over it for a moment. _As long as I report back to Chifuyu about Cecelia knowing about Operation Zulu, I should be fine. _

Kenneth remembered Captain Brian's words before he left the base on Coronado Island. _Just try to live by with emotion Kenneth._ He started. _Even if some information gets by, it's not like they know what do with it. Make some people understand what you've been through. _

_I don't need a psychiatrist Sir._ said Kenneth, in an inflection of defiance. _I'm not mental._

_I know, but please...for Angel..._

_...Angel..._

"Kenneth?" asked Cecelia, trying to get his attention back.

He sighed and got up, "Very well, I will help you." Turning away to leave, he said "Once the match between you and Ichika is done."

Cecelia nodded happily. "Thank you..."

"No problem...Cece." Kenneth walked out of the dorm room, as Cecelia rested her head against the pillows on bed.


	5. Anger management is good for you

**Disclaimer: I do not know anything by IS: Infinite Stratos, and other referenced merchandise/items in the fanfiction. However, original characters all belong to me, Grayjedi-Productions...**

**A thanks to Dunov who is the first person to review this fanfiction! Please, I want to hear some feedback... PLEASE!( =D)**

* * *

><p><strong>1330 Hours- IS Academy- Training Grounds- April 4, 2022<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>(Main theme is Heaven's Divide from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker...Trust me, it'll make more sense as the fanfiction continues)<strong>

* * *

><p>"Orimura! What the hell are you doing? Perform the descent dive." commanded an irritated Chifuyu.<p>

"Wha?...Sorry, got it." Ichika nose dove his IS towards the ground...and continued...and continued until he impacted with the ground.

"Ichika/Orimura!" yelled Houki, and Maya running towards the impact cloud. Chifuyu and Kenneth only briskly walked towards it.

As the dust cloud started to clear, Ichika was slammed head first into the ground, his IS dissipating. As he stumbled to get to his feet, he continuously rubbed the top of his head.

"Damn, that hurt a lot..." he mumbled.

Chifuyu only glared towards him, keeping her indifferent demeanor. "Idiot. Were you trying to make a hole in the ground?"

"Sorry..."

"You're embarrassing Ichika!" huffed Houki. "What have I been training you in the past..." Before Houki could finish, Cecilia bumped past Houki, sliding down the crater.

"Ichika-san! Are you hurt?" said Cecilia, almost leaning on Ichika.

"Yeah...I'm fine."

Cecilia gave a sigh of relief. "That's great! But I think I should escort you to the infirmary, just in case..."

Houki slid down the crater, joining the two. "What the hell does he need that for? His IS protected him from the crash."

Maya looked at Kenneth for awhile. "Aren't you Ichika's friend as well? Aren't you going to help him?"

Kenneth waved his hand. "I'm quite fine with this view. He looks fine to me."

Chifuyu cupped her face at Kenneth comment. _Didn't expect the SI to sent a pervert... _

Cecelia and Houki continued their argument.

"Isn't it common sense to worry for others safety?"

"Says you, wolf in sleeps clothing." The two's faces started inching towards each, piecing into each other's eyes, hot with anger.

* * *

><p><strong>1814 Hours- IS Academy- Cafeteria<strong>

* * *

><p>"Congrats Ichika!" the girls squealed.<p>

Confetti poppers and streamers exploded in magnificent array, scattering about the cafeteria. A marble white cake stood at the main table, slices already taken out of it. It's only been a full day since Ichika and Cecilia battle for the title of Class of 1-1 Representative. Cecilia won, but only by technicality, Ichika accidentally drained his own shields before he could strike down Cecilia with his Barrier Void Attack.

Ichika looked rather confused towards Kenny. "So why was I chosen? I lost the match..."

Cecilia stood up, tossing part of her hair aside. "That's because I resigned. Though you lost, I thought it would only be natural. You being the class rep would bring a lot of publicity, and I looked back at how childish I was...It's only natural!"

Kenneth, looking rather bored, took out a small red carton. "Hey, I wouldn't say no to this, it's a good opportunity!" Opening the carton, he withdrew a small white stick, dragging it to his mouth.

"Uhhh, the Academy doesn't allow smoking, especially indoors." said one girl.

"Oh what? This?" Kenneth pointed at the stick. "No, it's not a cigarette, just a candy stick! Here try one!" Kenneth promptly put the stick in his mouth as he handed around stick to the girl. She took a bite out of it.

"It tastes just like strawberries!" She started break parts of the stick, and gave it to her friends.

"I want one!"

"Me too!"

Kenneth waved his hands, still playing around with his candy stick like a cigar. "Girls, please! This is Ichika's day!" Kenneth wrapped his arm around Ichika's shoulder. "Haha! He should enjoy his new position as Class 1-1 Representative! A toast to Ichika!"

_More like a funeral if you ask me.. _Though Ichika, brushing off Kenneth's arm.

"You're getting more popular each day Ichika" said Houki, sipping on a juice box.

"You think so?" asked Ichika

"Humph." A flash of light suddenly illuminated the room.

"Sorry for the flash everybody!" said a girl with an old fashion camera. "I'm Mayuzumi Kaoruko, vice-president of the News Paper Club. Can I have a statement from you?" She pointed at Ichika, with a recorder in her hand.

"Uuhhh...Sure, I guess."

"So what do you think about becoming the new Class Representative of 1-1?"

"Huh, I'll do my best."

Kaoruko looked slightly displeased. "What? Nothing awesome like 'Don't get too close to me, or you'll get hurt'?"

Kenneth saw Ichika's face contort to disbelief, but then again, who wouldn't?

"Ok, how about a hand shake picture from Cecilia and Ichika, symbolizing the change of Class Reps?"

Cecilia's face lit up. "Really? Oo...ok"

Ichika grabbed Cecilia's hand. Cecilia started blushing, trying to get closer to Ichika's body.

"Ok! Smile...Say Cheese!" Just before the flash went off, all the girls, including Houki, sprang up, joining in the picture. Kenneth stayed in his seat, still chewing on his candy stick.

"What? You...Why is everybody in the picture?" complained Cecilia.

"Well, we can't let you have a head-start, now can we?" teased a girl.

* * *

><p><strong>2230 Hours-IS Academy- Hallway<strong>

* * *

><p>Kenneth and Cecilia walked down the hall, Kenneth being the punching bag to Cecilia's rants. Although it was been a few days, Kenneth and Cecelia have been talking, being with each other, and understanding their situations and personal problems. Despite Kenneth stoic appearance with people, once Cecelia got to know him, he truly was a nice person... and hurting. But he never brought up why he was like that.<p>

"Why? Why did everybody have to jump in?" she continued.

Kenneth stretched his arms above his head. "Well, what did you expect? Ichika and I are the only guys in the Academy. Of course they're gonna try to get a date with him. Hell, I'm getting anonymous love letters tapped to my door!"

"You seem to be handling this well..."

"Meh, I come and go as I please. But hint me this Cecilia. Do you love Ichika?"

Cecilia froze in her tracks. "Wh...why do you ask?"

"I can see it in your eyes. It's pretty obvious, even if I wasn't an infiltration agent."

Cecilia grabbed her arms, nervously. "Well...yeah...Can...can you help me get his heart?"

"Hey, I may be his friend and know how he acts and stuff, but I'm not going to do that."

Cecelia frown, continuing walking. "What? Why not?"

"For one, it's fun watching you girls fight over him. I could make this a sit-com, and get some money from it."

Cecilia slapped Kenneth's face. "Well, I guess that wasn't uncalled for." Kenneth winced, rubbing the slap print on his face.

"Jerk..."

Kenneth started walking again. "But the second reason is the real reason. It would be unfair."

"How unfair?" Cecilia trailing behind Kenneth.

Kenneth seemed to gaze out, reflecting. "There are a lot of girls in this Academy trying their best to get Ichika's attention. You saw it from Houki's eyes, she wants him too, despite her 'tsundere attitude'. Asking me to help you would be giving an unfair advantage for the rest of the girls."

"I didn't think of you as a 'fair games' type of man." Cecilia said, crossing her arms.

Kenneth shrugged. "My life and missions maybe about trickery but that doesn't control who I am." A soft red light bled through Kenneth's uniform, emitting a soft beep.

"What's that?"

"Oh nothing, here's your room."

"Alright, good night."

* * *

><p><strong>0200 Hours-IS Academy-Room 1026, Kenneth's room.<strong>

* * *

><p>"...And that's what I got Captain. Nothing really in development, but Ichika's IS does have a resemblance of the 'White Knight'." Kenneth said to a small laptop screen.<p>

Kenneth's room was pitch black, aside from the military laptop communicator screen. It was complete silent in the Academy.

"You know, this reminds me a lot of an old TV show I watched in college...'Friends' I believe the title..." said Captain Brian, the instructor of the Scion Initiates.

Over the last year, Kenneth and the Captain have been developing a father/son relationship. Ever since the Incident, it was Captain Brian who constantly monitored him, besides the Three. "

But that's besides the point, how you feelin'?" he continued.

Kenneth was taken back from the Captain Brian's familiarity tone. "I guess I'm better..." he stuttered.

Brian's face stressed face loosened a bit. "Aren't you supposed to get a roommate soon?"

Kenneth shrugged, as Brian sighed. "Fair enough." Brian continued.

"That's all to report sir."

"Good man... And Buyuu, have your arm recharged, you know the consequences."

"Yes sir!" And the computer screen shuts down.

Kenneth removed some wires behind the bed, and attached them to his synthetic arm. As all the wires attached, his arm started to glow a pale red color. Kenneth knew what the Captain was talking about. As a Scion Initiate with the implantation, most soldier's bodies can't handle the extreme restructuring of their bodies, so the synthetics act as a crutch before the body can fully recover. In most cases, it meant lack of energy, or sleep. But for Kenneth's case, it was his heart that started to fail. _A rare case..._ said one of the Three.

_Only a few more months. _He thought.

* * *

><p><strong>April 5, 2022-IS Academy- Room 1-1- 0654 Hours.<strong>

* * *

><p>"Hey Ichika! The Inter-Class Tournament is coming up! If you win, the entire class gets free food!" said one of the girls surrounding Ichika's desk.<p>

"That's sounds abit indulgent if you ask me." nudged Kenneth.

"It's only class 1 and 4 that have personal ISs, so we should win for sure!"

"That information is outdated." boomed a voice.

Everybody shifted their attention to door. There stood a short young girl, with long brunette hair, tied in two side pony tales.

"Rin...Is that you?" asked Ichika.

"Nice to see you again Ichika. I am Lingyin Huang, the Chinese Cadet Representative. And I here to declare war on Class 1-1!"

Kenneth forced his left eye to shift grey, as a small scanner came into his view.

_Lingyin Huang, Cadet Representative of China_

_IS: Shenlong, CQB... Specialization: Ryuhow, high impact cannon._

"Who is this? Why does Ichika act so familiar with her?" said Cecilia under her breathe.

"Rin..." Ichika started. "Why are you trying to act so cool? It doesn't suit you!"

"What do you mean by tha..." a fist bopped her on the head.

"Oww...What's the problem with..." Rin said, as she turned around, only to see Chifuyu.

"Chifuyu-san..."

"It's Orimura-sensei. Now get to class, you're becoming a bother."

* * *

><p><strong>1215 Hours- IS Academy- Cafeteria<strong>

* * *

><p>Ichika sat down in a round table booth, with Houki, Kenneth, Cecilia, and Rin.<p>

"It's nice to see that you still like ramen." Ichika started off.

"I heard that you piloted an IS. How'd that happen?"

"How, I'm never sure, but..." Kenneth quietly pressed a few buttons on his synthetic arm, recording Ichika's story...

_One explanation later..._

"...And a few things happened after that, and here I am now." concluded Ichika.

"Sounds abit of an adventure if you ask me." said Rin, mouth full of ramen. "And what about you?" (pointing at Kenneth).

"Just an experimented soldier of the USA, that's all." Briefly said Kenneth, as he closed down the recording software.

"He doesn't like talking that much does he?" asked Rin to Ichika.

"That's about true..." trailed Ichika.

Cecilia and Houki stood up, slamming their hands on the table.

"I demand an explanation of this!" said Houki.

"Yeah! Are you...g-g-going out with her?" accused Cecilia.

Rin started waving her hands wildly, like trying to calm a fire. "No, no, no! It's not like that!"

"That's right. She was...is my second childhood friend. Houki, after you left, she was my friend during high school."

"Ah, I see..." Houki and Cecilia said in unison.

Kenneth saw sparks between their the three girls eyes ignite. _This is starting to look like a harem everyday..._

"Well, if that's the case, I guess it doesn't matter, I've known Ichika for long time, eating dinner together and whatnot." said Houki.

"Oh really? After you left, Ichika always went to my house for dinner."

"WHAT?" Cecilia and Houki's scream hurt Ichika and Kenneth's ears.

"What's the meaning of this Ichika?" demanded Houki, Cecilia nodding her head in agreement.

"Well, that's sort of right. I always ate at the restaurant that Rin's parents owned." The girls started to calm down, seeing that the two weren't "dating".

"So Ichika, after school, I could teach you how to pilot an IS...If you want." continued Rin.

Houki and Cecilia stood up in Rin's face. "Sorry, but he's training with me after school." they both said, grabbing Ichika's shoulders.

"I see..." Rin stood up, gathering her ramen bowl. "Save some time for me afterwards, Ichika!" With that, she left.

* * *

><p><strong>1409 Hours-IS Academy-Room 1-1<strong>

* * *

><p><em>What the hell? More competition?<em> Though Houki and Cecilia.

_Wait, I have the greatest advantage out of any of them... I share the room with Ichika!_ devilishly thought Houki.

"I must get a date with Ichika soon..." thought aloud Cecilia, under her breathe.

"Alcott! Shinonono! What's the answer?" asked Maya.

Houki and Cecilia snapped to attention. "I...uhhh..." *Snap!* Chifuyu bopped both of them on the head. "Idiots. It near the end of school, but pay attention!"

Ichika looked at both of them, "Are you two ok?"

"Like it isn't your fault in the first place..." they mumbled.

_What did I do?_

* * *

><p><strong>1914 Hours-IS Academy-Stadium Training Grounds<strong>

* * *

><p>"How did you get a hold of the Uchigane?" said Cecilia at Houki.<p>

In the calm sunset of the day, Houki, Ichika and Kenneth were deployed in their armor, waiting to start up abit of training. Houki materialized a katana-like sword from the IS.

"I simply asked." shot Houki. "Ready Ichika?"

Ichika readied his sword. "Ready."

"Hey wait a second! Ichika will be training with me!" Cecilia summoned her IS as well.

"Oi! A two v. one hardly seems fair at this point!" pointed out Kenneth, who happily decided to join the three. Wielding at short katana, and a hachiwara, Kenneth took his stance.

"Fine, a two v two then." smiled Cecelia.

* * *

><p><strong>2131 Hours-IS Academy-Stadium Training Grounds<strong>

* * *

><p>Ichika leaned against a wall, barely able to stand up.<p>

"So let's call it a day!" said Cecilia, cheerfully.

Kenneth left a 15 minutes in, realizing that the girls only paid attention to him if deemed necessary. He started off with his own training, leaving towards the USA Super Carrier George Washington at the Yokosuka Naval Base.

"Do you girls...Want me killed?" Ichika bared said, still panting from the exercise.

"Ha! You just lack the discipline." grunted Houki.

_Yeah, sure. You're the one who isn't being double-teamed..._

"I'll be showering back at the dorm, see you there." said Houki, walking away.

"Yup, see you tomorrow Ichika!" said Cecilia.

* * *

><p><strong>2134 Hours-IS Academy-Men's locker room<strong>

* * *

><p>"Ichika! I brought you a sports drink!" Rin said, handing the bottle to Ichika.<p>

Ichika chugged it down. "That was much needed..." he said, polishing the bottle off.

"So where did Kenny go?"

Ichika shrugged his shoulders. "He left a long time ago. He's probably back at the dorm by now."

"So we are finally alone..." said Rin, fumbling with her thumbs. "Did you feel lonely after I left?"

"Yeah...losing friends over the years does make one lonely."

Rin frowned a little. "Not like that. But you must have alot of things to talk about after a year right?"

"Oh, that reminds me. Did you tell your high school friends that you're returned? They'll be so happy to hear the news!"

"Not that either!" nearly yelled Rin. "But..."

"Well I better start heading back to the dorm, Houki must have finished her shower by now."

Rin started trying to get up in Ichika's face, despite her small size. "Wait what? What's your relationship with her?"

Ichika looked confused. "What do you mean? She's my childhood friend...and you're my second childhood friend."

"What does showering and 'childhood friend' have in common?" Rin started to become angry.

"Oh that, well I'm sharing a dorm room with her."

Rin seemed to calm down. "I see..."

* * *

><p><strong>April 6, 2022-IS Academy-Stadium Battlegrounds-1430 Hours.<strong>

* * *

><p>"First match next week is Orimura Ichika versus Huang Lingyin." said Kenneth.<p>

Ichika and Kenneth stopped at the board, looking at the different opponents. Everybody was already wearing their combat jumpsuits for IS deployment; Kenneth in his SI battledress. Houki and Cecilia patiently waited on them near the center.

"Strange how fate is isn't it?" asked Kenneth to Ichika.

Ichika closed his eyes, looking at the floor. "You're not making it better, especially with last night."

"Well, what happened?"

"Rin tried to get Houki to move out the dorm room, so she can move in. The two got into an argument."

"Ah, so that's what the screaming was about."

"Shut up..." Ichika was already in a foul mood. Pissing him off tend to make him "hot-blooded."

Stepping away the girls finally started speaking. "Well it'll soon be time where the Battlegrounds will be closed for the Tournament setup, so we'll waste no time."

"Perhaps I can help." said a familiar voice behind them.

"Rin! What are you doing here? I thought you were avoiding me." said Ichika.

"Now why would I want to do that?" she said, with a devilish smile, hands on her hips.

"What the hell are you doing here? You're Ichika's opponent!" pointed Houki and Cecilia.

"What? I can't say 'hi' to an old friend?"

"That's awfully suspicious if you ask me!" exclaimed Cecilia.

"Ichika," Rin said, ignoring the others, "just apologize already."

"About what?" Ichika started to look defensive.

"The Promise!"

"Yeah? What about the Promise? I remembered it correctly!"

Rin wildly shook her head. "There's a meaning behind that you moron!"

"Meaning? What meaning?"

"Huh, fine. The winner of our match forces the loser to do whatever she says."

"Ho-ho! A bit cocky aren't we?"

"You better start practicing your sorries!"

"And why would I? If I win, then you tell me about this 'meaning' of yours!"

"Lame-Ass!"

"Flat-chested!" Kenneth's eyes widened, _Oh GOD, Ichika, you never say that to a girl!_

Rin lunged at Ichika, arm in half deployment. Ichika barely jumped back in time, leaving Rin punching the ground where he only stood. A large crack in the ground broke the ground where Rin's IS arm impacted.

"Now you've done it...I'LL BEAT YOU TO A BLOODY PULP!" she said, half-crying and screaming. She walked away, anger radiating from her body.

* * *

><p><strong>April 13, 2022- 1327 Hours-IS Academy-Stadium Hanger "The Pit"<strong>

* * *

><p>"Her IS is Shenlong, a melee type." said the onboard tactical computer.<p>

"It's a different battle Ichika." said Cecilia, pointing out the obvious.

"If you fight like you practice, you'll come out on top." encouraged Houki.

"Good luck out there, and watch out for her dual scimitars." warned Kenneth.

"Thanks everybody...Let's go!" Ichika blasted his way out of the hanger...


	6. Unmanned Infinite Stratos Drone: Golem

**Disclaimer: I do not know anything by IS: Infinite Stratos, and other referenced merchandise/items in the fanfiction. However, original characters all belong to me, Grayjedi-Productions...**

**READ, REVIEW AND RESPOND! =D**

* * *

><p><strong>April 13, 2022-IS Academy-Stadium Battlegrounds-1435 Hours<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>(Main theme is Heaven's Divide from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker...Trust me, it'll make more sense as the fanfiction continues)<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>"Ready? FIGHT!"<strong>

"I hope that you brought a body bag." said Rin coldly.

Ichika waited no time and charged at Rin, Yukihira Type-2 blade at the side. Rin swatted the attack away with a quick materialization of a scimitar. With a midair back flip, Rin gain some distance before she boasted towards Ichika slashing at Ichika. The two backed up a distance.

"Ha! I'm surprised that you survived the first attack!" Rin materialized a second scimitar.

* * *

><p><strong>1437 Hours-IS Academy-Command Booth<strong>

* * *

><p>"Damn it Ichika, why don't you use the cross grid turn that I taught you!" screeched Cecelia.<p>

Kenneth coughed a bit, eyes scanning the battle. A small screen appeared, visible to only his eyes. _Good, the battle data is analyzed and ready for "shadow dance" usage_.

* * *

><p><strong>1439 Hours-IS Academy-Battlegrounds<strong>

* * *

><p>Combining both scimitars end to end, Rin created a bow-sword. Twirling it around to see if it's functional, Rin immediately charged at Ichika, only to narrowly miss with a midair front-flip by Ichika.<p>

_At this rate, it comes down to who wears down whom...Gotta get some distance first_. Ichika backpedaled at full speed, but Rin continued her charge. The two zoomed in the aerospace of the stadium, dodging each other at constant velocities.

"Idiot!" yelled Rin, as Ichika saw an air column condense at Rin's IS shoulders, barreling straight for him...

Ichika feel as if firecracker exploded in his shoulder, slightly losing control of flying. He turned back towards Rin.

"Just so you know...That was just a jab..." smirked Rin, charging another round, hitting Ichika square in the chest.

* * *

><p><strong>1442 Hours-IS Academy-Command Booth<strong>

* * *

><p>"Just what the hell was that attack just now!" questioned Houki, watching Ichika slowly get up.<p>

"It must be the Impact Cannons..." Thought Maya.

"A third generation ability, just like my Blue Tears." whispered Cecilia, watching attention to Ichika dodging more shots.

"It's impossible to detect by the human eye, if with IS abilities. Ichika must be predicting when Rin is lining up her shot, then moving last second." continued Maya.

As the video feed continued, Ichika started approaching his aggressor. "Rin, I will fight serious." he said with absolution.

Rin tilted her head, dumbfounded and annoyed. "Isn't that what's expected? You will see the true power of the Shenlong!" Ignoring his comment, Rin continued with Impact Cannon shots.

Ichika carefully zoomed away from Rin, only barely avoiding her shots.

"Ichika's up to something..." noted Maya.

"It's the Ignition Boost. I taught him that." said Chifuyu, who has been unusually quiet.

"Ignition Boost?" asked Houki and Cecilia.

"May I?" jumped in Kenneth. Chifuyu nodded. "It's when the IS pilot breaks supersonic, and accelerates at top speeds. At that speeds, the pilot closes in on the enemy. With Ichika's barrier void attack, he should win. There's only one problem, the energy usage is great on the shields; it can only be used once."

* * *

><p><strong>1446 Hours-IS Academy-Battlegrounds<strong>

* * *

><p><em>There! An opening! <em>Ichika charged, Rin barely having anytime to see Ichika boosting his way towards her.

Suddenly an explosion rocked the stadium from the middle of the battlegrounds. Large clouds of smoke spurted from the center of the explosion. Ichika veered away from Rin, barely missing a head-on collision.

"Orimura, Huang! The match is suspended! Retreat at once!" yelled Chifuyu over the communicator.

A large particle beam shot out from smoke, narrowly missing Rin's face. As the smoke cleared, a large black IS stood, aiming dual arm cannons at Rin. Ichika grabbed Rin just before the laser shot out.

"You ok?" asked Ichika, carrying Rin.

"Yeah... I'm fine." said a startled Rin. "Wait...What the hell are you doing? Let me go!" She started to bonk Ichika on the head.

"Gah! Fine." Ichika pushed Rin away, both floating in the air. The foreign IS blasted out of the crater it created, blasting more shots at both Rin and Ichika.

* * *

><p><strong>1452-IS Academy-Command Booth<strong>

* * *

><p>"The teacher assault unit is on standby. Buyuu, you're taking command." order Chifuyu.<p>

"Hey! What about me?" exclaimed Cecilia.

"Buyuu has commanded multiple units in the past. Your Blue Tears IS is only useful with multiple targets. Have you any cooperative training?"

"Well...I..."

"So then, what was your rank? Your combat effectiveness? The setup of the operation?" With every listing, Cecilia slowly lowered her head.

Cecilia waved her hands wildly. "Alright, I understand..."

"Orimura-sensei, if I may? I wish to take Cecilia as my second-in-command."

Chifuyu glared at Kenneth, only to see Kenneth's eyes shifting to a dull grey. "Sigh Very well, permission granted."

Cecilia walked next to Kenneth. "Thank you." she whispered.

Kenneth shrugged. "It's not like we can do anything, the barriers are strong enough to block anything on the outside." Chifuyu passed a cup of coffee to Kenneth.

"Sorry, but I don't drink coffee."

* * *

><p><strong>1459-IS Academy-Stadium Battleground<strong>

* * *

><p>"Ichika! Swing properly!" screamed Rin.<p>

"Damn thing is moving fast; I can't get a lock!" retorted Ichika.

The foreign IS weaved and dodged Ichika's swings and Rin's shots, bombarding them with high powered cannons.

"That's the ninth time you missed." Rin gasped, barely dodging the attacks.

"We can also just run away." suggested Ichika.

"Screw that! I'm a cadet Representative after all."

"Well, I guess that means that I got your back then."

The two continued to dodged and dive away from the particle beams. The IS eventually stopped, fading behind a dust cloud.

"Hey Rin, don't you think this thing is acting machine-like?" Rin flew her way towards Ichika.

"What do you mean? ISs are machines."

"Yeah, but its is moving _like_ an machine."

"Huh, now that you mention it, it doesn't attack us while we are talking... But an unmanned IS is impossible."

"But if it is... We can attack it at full force." Ichika opened a new channel. "Kenny, Cecilia you there?"

"This is Kenneth. What you got Ichika?"

"Set up around the stadium. Wait for the right opportunity."

"Haha, you're starting to learn Ichika. Alright, got it."

Ichika resettled himself. "I guess this means I can use Reiraku Byakuya."

"Wait what's that?" asked Rin.

"A powered slash that cuts through anything. It's usually too dangerous to use in an interclass match."

"I haven't a clue what that is, but if it works."

"**ICHIKA!**" yelled a voice, echoing around the stadium.

Ichika and Rin turned towards the noise. In the hanger bay stood Houki, barely with breathe. "If you're a man... then how can you not win against an enemy of that level?"

The foreign IS turned towards Houki, aiming it's cannons at her.

"Damn it, we're out of time! Rin fire your Dragon Cannons!"

As Rin charged the cannons, Ichika flew between her line of fire. "What the hell are you doing? Get out of the way!"

"Just do it!"

"Ahhh, if this gets out of hand...!"

Rin fired, the impact shells piecing right through Ichika...And yet, the cohesive shells warped towards Ichika's back. Ichika felt the extreme pressure hitting his back, despite his IS absorbing the blast. A small screen appeared before Ichika, reading 100% unit power. _Reiraku Byakuya Ready_ the screen flashed.

Ichika charged at full speed towards the enemy IS.

_I'll defend Chifuyu-nee, Houki, Rin, Kenny...all of the people around me!_.

Ichika swung...and sliced right through the right arm of the IS... and slammed right on to the ground beside it. The IS turned it's other arm towards Ichika.

"Kenny, Cecilia." coughed Ichika, crawling away from the IS drone. "You guys ready?"

"...We got your back Ichika." Blue particle beams rained down on the enemy IS from combat drones, followed by a missiles barrage.

From the rafters, Cecilia and Kenneth stood, Cecilia firing all her weapons at the IS. Kenneth materialized twin Backburner sniper rifle, slapping them together.

"Let's see how 65 millimeters of tungsten feels ya!" Kenneth aimed and fired, blasting off the head of the IS.

"Cecilia, finish it off!" yelled Ichika. Cecilia's aim was true; piecing the midsection of the IS. With that, the machine fell.

"Knew you two could do." smiled Ichika, getting to his feet.

Kenneth gave Ichika a half-salute, Cecilia's face blushing. "O...Of course!" she said.

A red screen appeared before Ichika's eyes. _Enemy start up sequence initiated. You are locked_.

The enemy IS stumbled to it's knees, aiming one final time at Ichika.

* * *

><p><strong>1701 Hours-IS Academy-Hospital Wing<strong>

* * *

><p>Ichika laid in bed, bandages wrapped around his waist. Rin stood right next to the bed, staring at Ichika. She slowly moved towards Ichika's lips. <em>Just a simple little kis...<em>

Ichika groan, starting to become conscience, seeing Rin's face barely touching his. Rin quickly peeled back.

"Wha...What are you doing?" asked Ichika.

"No..no...nothing.." Rin stuttered.

Ichika sat up. "Why are you so startled?"

"I'..I'm not! Stop saying things!" Ichika noticed Rin shaking, as if shivering.

"So what happened to that IS?" Ichika said, changing the subject.

"It simply stopped moving."

"I see..." Ichika shifted his gaze towards the window. "Hey, it was like this sunset when you and I made that promise...Now that the match is cancelled, and everything is done..."

"What you mean the Promise? No-no-no No, it meant exactly what I said." Rin scratched her head, letting out a nervous laugh, almost admitting what she meant by it.

"Well, it would be nice to eat your father's food again."

Rin started playing with her thumbs. "I...err...We don't own the restaurant anymore."

"Huh? What happened?"

Ichika saw a small tear come out of Rin's eyes. "My parents got divorced...That's why I had to move back to China. My mom got custody of me... and...well..."

"I understand." Ichika closed his eyes, wondering what could have happened between her family; Rin's parents were such a lovely couple. "So...any time soon, you and I just wanta have fun?"

"You...mean...a date?"

"Oh Ichika!" said a voice behind the door. It opened, revealing Cecilia. "I came here to nurse..." Cecilia leered at Rin, approaching her. "What are you doing here? We all agreed to stay out of the room until Ichika was awake!"

"Yeah for you too." In the doorway, Houki stood, with a sigh of grief. "Get a head-start I see?"

"Well that's..."

Rin started getting frustrated. "Both of you leave! Ichika's my childhood friend!"

"That also applies to me." rebuked Houki.

"Students from other classes shouldn't..." started up Cecilia.

"Wait...Where's Chifuyu-nee and Kenneth?" pointed out Ichika.

The girls turned towards him, leaving their argument.

"Yeah you're right." said Cecilia.

"There were right next to us." added Houki, placing her hand under her chin, in thought.

"I wonder where they went..." thought aloud Rin.

* * *

><p><strong>1710-IS Academy-Underground Bunker and Research Center<strong>

* * *

><p>In the barely lit room stood Chifuyu and Maya, staring at a screen, reading off the materials on the alien IS. In the middle of the room laid the IS, with mechanical arms dismantling the cannons and propulsion systems.<p>

"It's what we thought...An unmanned IS drone." analyzed Maya.

"I see" said Chifuyu. "Buyuu, you see anything?"

Kenneth popped his head from beneath the IS. A flashlight bandana was attached to his head, bits of grease plastered over his face.

"You know how hard it is to operate with these mech arms flowing around?" Kenneth whacked one with his wrench.

"Ahh, whatever." Kenneth slowly moved himself from under the IS.

"Well?"

"It's an unregistered core alright, despite Cecilia blasting most of it away." Chifuyu simply glared at Kenneth.

"There are only 468 IS cores in the world...So where did this come from?" asked Maya.

"Whoever made this drone did a fantastic job, I couldn't tell where they got the material for this thing." Kenneth said, wiping the grease from his face with a rag.

"Not a single registration on the materials?"

Kenneth shook his head. "Not a single one...But I've seen these weapons before. It's like the illegal stuff we found back in Operation Zulu."

"Anti-IS weapons?"

"No, it's low grade to be a pure anti-IS weapon...But still up there."

Chifuyu thought about this for a moment. "So what you're trying to say, Midshipmen, is that whoever made this IS is also responsible with Operation Zulu?"

"Exactly..." Kenneth threw the rag to the side, walking towards the exit. "This is the reason why the Infinite Stratos System should not be the hands of children." he added coldly, his voice changing tone.

"A bit harsh if you ask..." Maya rebuked but stopped mid-sentence. From the exit door stood Kenneth, eyes shifting to an ice grey.

"Ask me again when you lose everything at the hands of these monstrosities."

Maya looked at Chifuyu as Kenneth walked out the door, Chifuyu stoically staring at Kenneth.

"And what about yourself Midshipmen?"

Kenneth stopped between the doors. "I am a means to that end."


	7. The New French Guy and Uprising

**Disclaimer: I do not know anything by IS: Infinite Stratos and/or Linkin Park's song Fallout. They belong to their respected owners. However, original characters all belong to me, Grayjedi-Productions...**

**A/N: This is a bit lengthy, nearly 5000 words. But please do,**

**READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY! XD**

* * *

><p><strong>April 14, 2022-IS Academy-Room 1025-1702 Hours<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>(Main theme is Heaven's Divide from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker...Trust me, it'll make more sense as the fanfiction continues)<strong>

* * *

><p>"So we finally got the room arrangements correct!" announced Maya. Houki sat at her desk, while Ichika was relaxing on his bed. It's only been a day since the Tournament, and everybody is trying to get back to normal.<p>

"Wait, what do you mean?" asked Houki.

"Ichika is moving out of this room and being transferred over to a new room! Room 1044!"

Ichika and Houki stared at each other, then back to Maya. "There is no Room 1044." They both said.

Maya tilted her glasses, making them shine in the room. "It was a secret of the Academy. We made sure that you guys won't know about it." The three stood in silence.

"Uhhh, it's it slightly awkward for a boy and a girl to sleep together though?" Maya said, breaking the silence.

"Does it have to be immediately though?" asked Houki.

"Yes."

Ichika started packing his stuff. "Don't worry about me Houki. I'll still wake up properly without you."

Houki furrowed her brows. "Sensei, please do get him out of my room!"

* * *

><p><strong>1717 Hours- IS Academy- Main Corridor- In front of Room 1044.<strong>

* * *

><p>Ichika stood outside the door of room 1044. The sterile-like hallway and freshly painted door to the door did say that the entire area around room 1044 was brand-new.<p>

_They really kept this a secret. _Though Ichika, slowly opening the door. _Oh wow..._

Inside the room was a complete living room setting; a large couch, two side chairs and a coffee table in between. Two doors on the far wall, and another two doors on the right side of the room. A large screen TV was pinned to the wall, with the American National Hockey League on. Kenneth sat on the couch, leaning slightly forward, as if in the game.

"Oh hey!" said Kenneth, finally seeing Ichika. "I see that you found your way here."

Ichika placed his stuff next to the couch, and sat himself down. "It's quite a nice place we have here."

"Quite...By the way, where were you today?"

"Oh that...Well, I went off-campus to see an old friend, Dan Gotanda."

"Nice, must have been a fun time."

"It was...especially when we got lunch from his sister. By the way, what's with the other door?"

Kenneth motioned to the two doors on the far side of the room. "Oh that one? Apparently this is a three-bedroom suite. We are supposed to get another pilot coming in soon... maybe tomorrow."

Ichika looked puzzled. "Another guy?"

"Yeah, strange how this world works right?"

A soft knock was heard from the main door. Kenneth got himself up. "Don't worry. I got it."

Kenneth opened the door, seeing Houki, arms crossed.

"Oh hi. Is Ichika here?" she said.

"Yeah...Ichika, it's Houki, get over here."

Kenneth left the door open, leaving for bathroom. "Oh hey Houki, what's up?" said Ichika.

Houki started pivoting her body left and right, unsure of what to say. "You know that the Grade Level Individual Tournament? If...I become champion...You will go out with me!"

Ichika stood there, baffled about what was going on. Kenneth, came out of the bathroom, toothbrush in mouth.

"Hey, what did I miss?" Kenneth said.

* * *

><p><strong>April 15, 2022-0144 Hours-IS Academy- Room 1044-Kenneth's Personal Dorm Room<strong>

* * *

><p>"...And that's the update, Captain. Nothing to report, besides the unmanned drone." Kenneth said to the transmitter screen.<p>

Captain Brian scratched his head, trying to get his mind around the idea. "This is troubling. If any nation was to mass produce unmanned IS drones, then military tensions between feuding nations will become...extreme."

"And that's why the STARIS is here, isn't it?"

"True... But still, this is troubling."

"Well if that is all, this Midshipman Kenneth Buyuu, signing off."

"Just wait Midshipman. You know it's becoming that time of the month again."

Kenneth bowed his head and sighed. "Protocol WALTS, correct?"

The Captain simply nodded. "You know the drill. Protocol Without Any LighT/mass Shielding. Even being at the IS Academy doesn't stop it. Three representatives of the major STARIS units will be coming to get you within the next three days. Get a good nights rest Buyuu; you might need it tomorrow."

Kenneth did a simple salute, and closed the transmitter. _I wonder who it will be this time?_

* * *

><p><strong>0700 Hours-IS Academy-Room 1-1<strong>

* * *

><p>"Now before we start class today." started Maya. "We have another transfer student in our class."<p>

The door slide out, and figure walked in front of the classroom. A young man, with long blonde hair, tied behind his head. He wore a baggy uniform, out of comfort, yet still carried an air of royalty. If anyone could have describe him, it would be "princely".

"My name is Charles Dunois from France. I'm new to the country, so please take care of me."

"A...a guy?" said one girl.

"Yes. I heard that there's two people in the same situation as me, so I transferred.."

The class exploded in an uproar, much to Charles surprise.

"Another guy in the class!"

"We are sooooo lucky!"

"I call this one!"

Chifuyu slapped her clipboard on the main desk. "Alright that's enough! We are training with Class 2, so everyone to the locker rooms."

She quickly changed her glaze to Ichika and Kenneth. "Orimura, Buyuu. Show Dunois to the guy's locker room."

"Very well."

As the girls started walking out of the classroom, Charles walked towards Ichika's and Kenneth's desks. "So you must be Kenneth, and you Ichika." he said with a smile.

Ichika and Kenneth immediately got up from their seats. Ichika spoke first. "We better hurry to the locker rooms."

Kenneth nodded. "Let's go." Kenneth grabbed Charles hand and the three ran out of the classroom.

"We better hurry to the arena." said Ichika, just a few feet ahead of Charles and Kenneth.

"Oo...okay." said Charles.

"Why you acting so strange? You gotta use the restroom?" asked Ichika. Kenneth immediately left go of Charles hands.

"Sorry about that..." mumbled Kenneth.

A flock of girls started forming around the guys. "Hey everyone! I found the new transfer student guy!" More girls started forming around Ichika, Charles and Kenneth.

"And he's together with Orimura-kun and Buyuu-kun!" another one said. In a blink of an eye, a herd of girls surrounded the three.

"Orimura-kun's black hair...Buyuu-kun's brown hair...And now the new guy's blonde hair!" squealed one girl.

"Damn it... Kenny, you have something with you to deal with this?" whispered Ichika.

"Flash-bang grenades could work."

Ichika shook his head. "Too powerful. Anything else?"

Kenneth withdrew a small pellet from his left arm, making sure that no one saw. "Smoke grenades." Slamming it on the ground, the entire hallway was consumed in a grey smoke, the girls coughing as they tried to search for the boys.

"Alright, let's go!" Kenneth said, dragging both Ichika's and Charles arms out of the smoke.

"Why are they after us?" coughed Charles.

"Being the only few guys in an all girls academy..." answered Ichika.

* * *

><p><strong>0714 Hours-IS Academy-Men's Locker Room<strong>

* * *

><p>"I think we lost them..." said Kenneth, watching the two panting for breathe.<p>

"Did you really..." panted Ichika "have to run _that_ fast?"

Kenneth scratched his head. "Yeah, sorry about that. I'd blame my augmentations, but I think that's becoming too often an excuse."

"I'm sorry if I caused too much trouble." breathed Charles.

"Not at all. Being the only two male students at the Academy is pretty tough." Ichika said.

"Well, I guess it isn't too late for introductions. I'm Ichika Orimura. Call me Ichika, please."

"Yes, nice to meet you Ichika. Call me Charles."

"Kenneth Buyuu. Kenny, Ken, whatever you may like."

"Oh man! Check the time! We're going to be late! Get changed quickly!" Ichika quickly took off his shirt, while Kenneth took out a military-like uniform. Charles simply stood there, embarrassed. Closing his eyes, he turned the other way.

"You better changed quickly." warned Ichika.

"Yeah, remember what happened last time with your sister?" said Kenneth, putting on his SI pants.

"Ooo-okay, I'll change. Just look the other way..." trailed off Charles.

"Uhhh, okay...I don't intent to stare at you while changing..." muttered Ichika, turning towards his locker. Kenneth, looked the other way, mumbling something about French people and their sexuality.

When the two boys looked back at Charles, he was already fully changed into a custom made IS jumpsuit.

"How the hell do you change that fast?" questioned Kenneth, befuddled.

"Especially when these suits become tangled and whatnot." added on Ichika.

"Tangled...?" asked Charles, becoming a little red in the face.

"But that suit looks a lot more comforting than these." pointed Ichika.

"It's a special model from the Dunois Company."

As the three started walking towards the outside doors of the stadium, Ichika and Charles continued to talk about the Dunois Company. Kenneth pulled slightly behind them, focusing his eyes on Charles. A small pop-up screen appeared for his eyes only.

_Charles Dunois_

_IS: Raphael-Revive Custom II_

_Special Ability: Multitudes of Weaponry._

Kenneth saw a small glitch in his eyes. From behind, Charles figure shifted to a young 18 year old girl's body, then changed back again. Kenneth shook his head. _Damn nanomachines must be acting up again..._

* * *

><p><strong>1720 Hours-IS Academy-Stadium Battlegrounds Arena II<strong>

* * *

><p>"We'll begin practice with a combat demonstration." started Chifuyu. "Huang, Alcott. Step forward please."<p>

"So much trouble...Why me?" complained Rin.

"Why do I have to be some exhibition?" grumbled Cecilia.

As the two stepped forward, Chifuyu whispered to both their ears. "Here's some enthusiasm...show him what you're made of!"

The two instantly became hyperactive.

"The stage is set for me, Cecilia Alcott, the United Kingdom's Cadet Representative!"

"It's a great chance to show you our difference in skill with personal ISs!" exclaimed Rin.

"What just happened?" asked Charles, noticing the change in the girl's attitudes.

"I don't know. Kenny, you heard what my sister said to them?"

"I wasn't really paying attention..." admitted Kenneth, with a smirk.

"Fighting Rin would be easy." smiled Cecilia.

"I'll slaughter you..." laughed Rin.

Chifuyu looked unfazed. "Idiots. You will be fighting against..."

A shining light sparked in the sky. Falling and falling it flew, directly into the path of the class. It was a green IS, with Yamada Maya piloting.

"OH MY GOD! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" She crashed with a thud, right on top of Ichika. A cloud of dust kicked up with the impact. As the cloud cleared, Ichika was on top of Maya-sensei, with his hand over Maya-sensei's left breast.

_Seriously, how does this happen with this guy?_ palmfaced Kenneth.

"Uuhh Orimura-kun...You see, this is troubling. I have to keep my teacher-student relationship with you... But if this continues, Orimura-sensei would become my sister-in-law, and that's pretty tempting..."

Ichika, noticing where his hand landed, immediately pulled himself away, just in time as a particle beam shot just between the two.

"Oh look..." said Cecilia, with a sadistic smile. "I missed..."

"ICHIKA!" screamed Rin, tossing her scimitar bow staff at Ichika.

With the sound of two repeated shots, the scimitar bow staff stuck to the ground. The class traced where the sound came from. From the mini-crater, sat a prone Maya, a focused look fixed on her face.

"Orimura-kun, are you hurt?" she said, her face becoming the usual carefree emotion she always had.

"No, I'm fine." Ichika said, brushing the dust from himself.

"Yamada-sensei is a former Candidate Representative. Those two shots are nothing for her." stated Chifuyu.

"But that was years ago..." said Maya, blushing with her accomplishment.

"Two against one?" asked Cecilia and Rin.

"I wouldn't worry. You two will be easily defeated." scoffed Chifuyu.

The girls, taking that as a challenge, took to the skies, with Maya trailing behind them. As the three battled, Chifuyu shifted her attention to Charles.

"Dunois. Make a commentary on the IS that Yamada-sensei is using."

"Uuuhh, yes ma'am. Yamada-sensei is using the Raphael Revive IS from the Dunois Company. An end of the 2nd generation ISs, however it rivals the early 3rd generation machines. It's greatest ability is that it can be configured to any and all types, melee, sniper and defensive combat."

With the end of Charles commentary, Rin and Cecilia screamed in pain, blasted from an IS grenade launcher. The two slammed on the ground beside Chifuyu, seemingly expecting that to happen.

"You're evasive maneuvers were too easy to predict!" attacked Rin.

"And you were just firing away without any consideration!" shot back Cecilia.

As the two continued to cast blame on each other, Chifuyu talked over them. "You should understand the ability of the teachers now. Show us some respect. We'll be splitting up into group practice. Personal IS holders will be the leaders."

Girls started filing into the groups, mainly concentrated around the guys. All three of the guys stared back at each other, seeing the sea that formed around them.

**A few minutes later**

"Buyuu, come here for a second." said Chifuyu, grabbing Kenneth away from his group.

"Continue without me girls!" said Kenneth, leaving his group.

A commotion started with Ichika's group, but Chifuyu continued to drag Kenneth to the side.

"Midshipmen what is this? It was lodged in Yamada-sensei's IS on the anti-gravity wings." In Chifuyu's hand was an eight millimeter bullet. It looked like an average bullet except for the dulled green tip it hand.

"This is a Mauler-round." said Kenneth, fumbling with the bullet in his hand, flabbergasted . "An anti-IS/Shielding round."

"Is there something the matter Midshipman?"

Kenneth glared into Chifuyu's eyes. "This is why Yamada-sensei fell from the sky. How did this happen?" he demanded.

"She said that she was about to do a combat drop near the class when three black IS machines materialized from thin air. The next thing she knew was that she was falling."

Kenneth looked stunned. "The problem is that Mauler-rounds aren't made to disable ISs... They are meant to kill... Anyone else who was to shoot this at Yamada-sensei would have straight up killed her... And the Mauler round is only used by..." Kenneth looked at the sky, scanning for any sign. A small magnification came to view.

Three jet black SI machines hovered gently in the sky, arms crossed. One of them looked like a slimmed down, yet more armored version of the APU's from The Matrix Revolutions. Another one looked like the God Gundam from Mobile Fighter G Gundam. The last one, in the middle of the other two, hovered an SI that Kenneth only knew as the first SI machine ever made; The "Black Knight". The three slowly disappeared from the visible spectrum.

Chifuyu saw a horror spawn from Kenneth's face. Was it fear, excitement, perhaps hatred? Chifuyu couldn't tell, Kenneth's face was all of it, but none of it.

"Is there something that you want to tell me Midshipman?" asked Chifuyu sincerely.

Color slightly drained from Kenneth's face. "No...nothing at all..."

_...They sent the Omega squad for the test...The greatest soldiers in the world, **MY** instructors...out against me..._

* * *

><p><strong>1300 Hours-IS Academy-Roof<strong>

* * *

><p>"...What is this..."<p>

"What do you mean Houki?" At lunchtime, the group of Ichika, Kenneth, Cecilia, Rin and Charles sat on the grass garden that was grown on the top of the roof. A partly cloudy day overhung the sky. Kenneth looked slightly distracted by the skies.

"Something on your mind, Kenny?" asked Charles.

Kenneth snapped out of his day glazing. "Who's huh...? Oh sorry..."

Charles looked abit nervous "Are you sure it's ok for me to be here?"

"Don't worry about, being the only three guys in the Academy, we need to stay together." said Ichika.

"Especially if we are going to be roommate now." chuckled Kenneth.

"Thank you...Both of you."

The girls and Kenneth withdrew from behind them their respected lunchboxes. Houki had a simple bento-box, Cecilia and Rin with a simple lunch box, and Kenneth with a gray colored ration tin. Kenneth opened his, taking out several wrapped packages. Dropping them in ration tin, he starting playing around with a military chocolate bar.

"That looks...unappetizing." commented Rin. Kenneth grunted in response.

With a few drops of water from a thermos in the tin, the slops became a full course meal before their eyes.

"Don't be hatin'." grinned Kenneth. "Hey what's this?" Kenneth fumbled a small cylinder tin from the ration.

"Charles, did you bring anything?" he asked.

"No I didn't." chuckled Charles. Kenneth tossed the tin over to him. "Here. A taste of home I guess."

Charles caught and quickly examined it. "Le Cachou Lajaunie? My favorite! Was this in the ration?"

Kenneth nodded. "Must have mixed the packaging with normal French rations. The 'IS' program I was in always got their moral candies from France."

Rin coughed, trying to get the guys attention. Opening her lunch box, she revealed sweet and sour pork.

_Childhood friends are awesome! _Though Ichika.

"Well Ichika, I prepared this early in the morning, so try some if you like." giggled Rin.

Almost immediately, Houki and Cecilia opened their lunch boxes. Inside Cecilia's, a nice set of sandwiches. Inside Houki's, a self assembled bento-box, seemingly built for two.

"Hear, try some of this Ichika." said Houki. Ichika, chopsticks in hand, grabbed a piece of sushi. The other girls just stared.

"Wow! That's delicious!" announced Ichika, mouth still full of sushi. Grabbing another piece of sushi, he held it in front of Houki's mouth.

"Come'on. It's yours, try it." smilied Ichika.

"Ooo-okay." accepted Houki. She chewed and swallowed it, enjoying every bit that Ichika had fed her. "Wow...it is good."

"Why don't you try this sandwich Ichika!" forced Cecilia, practically shoving the sandwich in Ichika's mouth.

"...I think I'll have more...later." groaned Ichika, face slightly filled with disgust.

"Hey! Not fair!" squealed Rin, using chopsticks to grab some pork from her box. "Here, try this one!"

Charles and Kenneth simply watched the events occur in front of them.

"I would say that what Ichika did with Houki would be similar to what couples do in Japan, but now I'm confused. Does this happen on a normal basis?" nudged Charles.

Kenneth took a large gulp from a separate water bottle next to him. "More often than you think."

* * *

><p><strong>2230 Hours-IS Academy-Room 1044<strong>

* * *

><p>"You certainly know how to make some tea Ichika." complemented Kenneth.<p>

"The tea is delicious Ichika." giggled Charles.

Ichika bowed his head. "Come'on! It was nothing!"

The boys sat in main room, feet kicked back on the coffee table. The TV wasn't on, all he boys did was talk for the past few hours after they finished their homework.

"So Ichika, Kenny... Would you mind if I joined training with you guys after classes?" asked Charles.

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind." said Kenneth.

"We definitely need another guy, since there's three girls. Especially if one of us ditches us midway thru the training..."

Kenneth seemed to hardly react to that comment. "It's not my fault that the girls were mainly after you. They hardly paid attention to me."

Charles got up first. "Well, I guess that I'm going to bed first. Night..."

"See ya in the morning."

"Remember that I wake up early in the morning. Don't mind the alarm."

* * *

><p><strong>? Hours-Location: UNKNOWN<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>(Kenneth's POV)<strong>

Don't apply the anesthesia yet. _I grunted in pain._

_White lights hung up from the ceilings of the medical room. I was virtually nailed in place, I couldn't move a single muscle if I felt like it. One last mission before becoming true Scion Initiates, the Surgery. Multiple mechanical arms lazily hung from the main machines, like drapes._

We need to remove you're left arm; it's damaged beyond healing. It will be you're part of humanity sacrificed for greater good_. said a doctor. A man walked into my view._

Captain..._ I tried to salute, slowing fading to darkness._

Rest easy, LC...

_LC...Lieutenant Commander... my rank until Surgery. Everything faded to black. I was prone to the table, waiting. Minutes became hours, hours seemed to become days, the idea of time was lost. _

_A sudden pain erupted from left arm. Piecing white light shined from it, radiating everything. A stream of memories past by me, torture training, interrogation, destruction and explosions of rogue bases swiped beside me, and I absorbed every bit of emotion from that time._

Please..._ I cried._ Make the pain stopped...

_The flood of emotion ebbed away from me, ending at one point I was reliving again._

Kill her._ Commodore Adean, pointed at the 25 year old IS pilot tied to the chair_. And we stop.

_I looked at the Commodore once, and switched over to the IS pilot. She showed no emotion to the events that transpired_.

Dunk him again. _Two United States Marine Recon men grabbed my head, and shoved it into the water tub in front of me. I felt that I was drowning, but no, the Scion Initiates made sure that the candidates lived to tell the tale. The Marine Recon men stopped again._

I'm not going to ask again, Buyuu. _Warned Adean. I could feel my hatred grow within me, a burning desire to kill the apathetic IS pilot...but was it worth it? To lose one's self in emotion? _

_Adean sighed. With a snap of her fingers, the men dunked my head again. My emotions snapped_.

Time to end this.

_I forced my head out of the water, the Marines caught-off guard by my movement. Grabbing the pistol in the tub, I shot the IS pilot clean on the head, ending her gaze...and my pain. Adean's face lighten up a bit_.

You men can leave now_. She said. Quietly the marines left the room. I got up from my chair, noticing that I was never really tied up to the chair at all. I stared at the IS corpse in front of me, kicking it and firing more bullets into her, making sure she was dead._

Never forget this moment Buyuu. While the Infinite Stratos are the light... We are the darkness. We are the Scion Initiates, part of the Special Tactics Against Rogue Infinite Stratos...and we sacrifice for humanity.

* * *

><p><strong>? Hours-IS Academy-Room 1044 (Standard POV)<strong>

* * *

><p>Kenneth woke up in an attack position, knife in hand, grabbing the pillow from behind him. He was panting as if out of breathe, he held back his knife, clutching it close to his chest. A sharp coolness helped wake him up. Kenneth noticed that his eyes were puffy, he had been crying in his sleep.<p>

_The past always come back to haunt us._ Though Kenneth, collapsing on his bed. Wrapping his hand behind his head rest, he opened a small compartment and withdrew a small flask. Taking one large gulp Kenneth felt the 100% Russian grade vodka numb his senses. Kenneth could hear himself crying, almost sobbing, clutching his synthetic arm and knife together. He grabbed the dog tags that held with flask. Engraved on the tags were the Angel Adrian, Lieutenant.

_Angel..._ A soft beep started from his left arm. He quickly silenced the alarm, and put the flask and dog tags away.

"Time to go..."

* * *

><p><strong>April 16, 2022-0654 Hours-IS Academy-Room 1-1<strong>

* * *

><p>Kenneth sat in his desk, still pondering about his nightmare. A shadow cast over his desk. He looked up, seeing Charles with a concerned face.<p>

"What happened his morning?" he asked.

"Nothing at all." Charles rose an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you heard..." warned Kenneth.

"I did... Ichika didn't."

"Ohh..." Kenneth looked down upon himself. A part of being with the SI soldiers was that the soldiers were in true synchronizing with their emotions. Powering parts of their armor, taking in different emotions in battle held their uses. But in the end, most the SI soldiers were broken inside. Their true emotions shown off the battlefield, sorrow, regret, and grief. In their lost "Battle-Sense" gray-eye indicator, some of the soldiers completely lose track of their memory during this stage.

"Tell me what's up."

"I...I really don't want to talk about it."

"It helps Kenny, no matter what." reassumed Charles.

"Well..." started off Kenneth. "As a child soldier..."

**(Minutes later)**

"...And that's my story. End." concluded Kenneth. He was careful to omitted main events during his life, such as training, tortures and weapons but the essence of the story was true; that he was an experimental soldier built for war.

"Thank you for sharing Kenneth." said Charles with a smile.

"And you're not worried one bit?"

"Not one."

Kenneth held out his left knuckles in a fist in the air. "Put'a there..." Charles stared at his arm, unsure of what to do.

"Just bump your knuckles with mine." Charles made a small fist, and bumped off with Kenneth.

"There you go..." chuckled Kenneth. Charles started laughing, embarrassed at how clueless he was.

"Alright everyone, into your seats now." announced Maya-sensei. The class quieted down.

"Alright everyone. We are training again with Class 2, get to the locker rooms now." said Chifuyu.

Some of the girls started whispering.

"What's going on?"

"Yeah we usually train with the other class on every other day. Not back to back."

* * *

><p><strong>0815 Hours-IS Academy-Stadium Battlegrounds<strong>

* * *

><p>"I still say that you're holding out on us." mentioned Ichika. The three boys started towards the rest of the class.<p>

"Yeah, how do you change so damn quickly?" added Kenneth.

"I don't know. I just do." Charles rolled his eyes.

The rest of the class started boarding on the mass produced Uchigane IS. Rin, Cecilia were already armored up. The boys quickly deployed their armors.

"Alright class." said Maya-sensei in her Raphael Revive, Chifuyu on the side "We will start off with..."

Before Maya continued, four cans dropped from the sky with a thud, surrounding the class. The students turned towards them. They suddenly exploded with a wispy smoke, surrounding the students.

"Students. Draw your weapons!" said Chifuyu, slightly hesitant.

"What's going on?" said Rin, and Cecilia in unison.

"What is smoke?" Charles asked.

"Kenny you have an idea...?" trailed Ichika.

Kenneth stood their frozen, mind wrapping around what was going on now. _So it's today they choose..._ He closed his eyes.

"Hey what's the matter?" asked Ichika, noticing Kenneth's closed eyes.

A hum radiated from the clouds. Gathering the more echos the hum grew louder. The class nervously looked in the clouds. Suddenly an electronic voice came out of the miasma.

_I'm swimming through the smoke... Of bridges I have burned..._

"What's going on?" cried out Rin.

_So don't apologize... I'm losing what I don't deserve..._

Kenneth opened his eyes, singing, walking trace-like towards the edge of the visibility, eyes an ice grey..

"_The blame is mine alone... Of bridges I have burned..."_

"Buyuu, what are you doing?" commanded Chifuyu. Kenneth stopped a yard from the smoke, staring deep into it.

_"So don't apologize... I'm losing what I don't deserve..._

_What I don't deserve."_


	8. The Phoenix Overdrive

**Disclaimer: I do not know anything by IS: Infinite Stratos and/or Linkin Park's song "The Catalyst". They belong to their respected owners. However, original characters all belong to me, Grayjedi-Productions...**

**I want to say thanks to all the people putting this story in their story alerts and favorites! **

**READ REVIEW AND REPOND! XD**

* * *

><p><strong>April 16, 2022-IS Academy- Stadium Battlegrounds- 0817 Hours<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>(Main theme is Heaven's Divide from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker...Trust me, it'll make more sense as the fanfiction continues)<strong>

* * *

><p>"Ichika." said Kenneth, voice almost sounded distance. "Rin, Cecilia and Charles. Protect the class, and don't get involved with the fight. They're at a whole other level than you."<p>

"What are you talking about?" they questioned.

Kenneth turned his head to the side, one eye spotting all of them. A piecing gaze of ice grey eyes shot at them. "Do not disobey a direct order..."

From the fog, a church organ played, scaling up and down, eerily playing. Three shadowed figures materialized from the fog. A drum beat steady picks up. The figures spawned metallic tentacle arms, grappling Kenneth.

"Stay back!" yelled Chifuyu, noticing the personal IS pilots moving forward. _So this is the infamous Protocol WALTS..._

A shower of sparks erupted from the figures in the fog, forcibly pushing it away. with the music having a scratching noise, like a DJ's disks being scratched. The figures were three pitch black IS machines, all poised on Kenneth. As soon as the sparks stopped on the figures, sparks flew out of Kenneth's machines. From Kenneth's view, a small window appeared. _Protocol WALTS activated. Last stand mode initiated._

Kenneth mouthed the lyrics as a song began, yet his emotions reflected the weight of the words. The machine tentacle slowly reseeded as Kenneth chanted on. Soon after, the black ISs chanted along side him.

"It's a call to war..." whispered Cecilia.

_...Where oceans bleed into the sky!_

The four mech armors boosted into the air, creating a slight depression on the ground where they were. Kenneth quickly changed into Cecilia's IS form, firing multiple particle beams and missiles in all directions. The three IS pilots nimbly evaded the beams, cloaking and decloaking at every turn. One of the machines slammed into Kenneth's back, forcing him out of the Cecilia clone form.

Turning around, Kenneth switched to a Rin's IS. Wielding a spear, the Rin clone charged head-on to the three IS. Dodging the frontal assault, the machines quickly turned towards the clone, firing a pave load of particle beams. Rin's clone waved the spear, slapping away the beams, and retaliated with full powered Dragon Cannons.

The air was filled with explosions, on the ground and in the air... And yet, the music continued on, playing above the destruction, crystal clear to the entire class.

_When we burn inside the fires of a thousands fun...Ooohhhhhh_

_Like memories in cold decay...Transmissions echoing away_

Kenneth landed himself on the ground; the other IS followed suit. Glancing at his left arm, he saw the battery power at 35%. _It's draining a lot faster than I thought._

The three black SI pilots knew so too. Gripping his left arm, Kenneth checked the status of Ichika's theoretical second shift for the FBM and the Emotion Driver. _Full synchronization ready._

Kenneth raised his left arm, a bright blue glow engulfing him. As the light withdrew, the class stared in shock as Kenneth appearance changed to Ichika's Byakushiki, face and all. But instead of Ichika's usual aloof, care-free face, was replaced by rage. Wielding a black version of Yukihira, and a green energy claw, Kenneth renewed his charge at the mysterious IS machines.

_Incredible...If he gone full out against Cecilia or anyone else..._ Though Ichika.

Within the maelstrom of attacks with the four IS, the Ichika-clone violently ripped one of the wings from the machines, whipping the destroyed part of the IS at another. Blocking the part with their bare hands, one IS cut the wing in half. The blinding attacks from each side created sonic booms in the air, hurting the ears of the class. The three IS machines flew in close in a triangle formation. Holding out their palms, six blue particle beams hit the clone, sending Kenneth hurling to the ground, crashing with crash.

"Kenneth!" yelled personal IS pilots.

_Lift me uuupppp...Let me gggooooo..._

Emerging from the newly formed crater, Kenneth stumbled to his feet, gripping his right arm. Large gashes covered Kenneth's armor. Kenneth switched to an pop-up window, checking on the remaining battery power left.

"15% left?" he muttered. "The final part of the WALTS... Phoenix Overdrive..."

The rest of class helpless watched as Kenneth struggled. Suddenly Kenneth was lifted into the air, wielding the katana and hachiwara in hands. The black color of the machine faded to a bright red-orange. The wings on the back spread into two separate pairs, fire igniting between them. The three black IS spread their wings, following Kenneth's lead. The four machines disappeared from view, yet the music and clanging sound of metal on metal continued, increasing in intensity as the music began to swell. With every clash, a faint silhouette of the machines appeared and quickly disappeared from view.

**"THIS ENDS NOW!"** roared Kenneth, suddenly appearing as his machine hit supersonic. He crashed right into the leader of the black IS, engaging in a pure fist fight. The two other machines dog piled on the two, bring the mess of metal slamming into the ground, dirt kicked into the air.

* * *

><p><strong>(Kenneth's Point of View)<strong>

* * *

><p>As the dust cloud cleared, I saw a pike blade and a hammer at my neck. An arm was grabbed around my waist, restricting my movement. From the Phoenix Overdrive, I was physically and mentally exhausted; By all human capabilities, I should have been dead, let alone kneeling before the SI soldiers.<p>

"Light's out Midshipman... First time since basic isn't it?" the voice behind me growled.

A sudden burst of pressure hit my head, as darkness started swelling in my eyes. A small screen appeared next to my eyes. "Cyanide tooth activated... Nanomachines overwhelmed in 2 minutes..."

* * *

><p><strong>(Standard Point of View)<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>-<strong>The three black IS pilots stared at the motionless body of Kenneth, now out of the armor. The bulkier of the three crouched down, attaching a small wire to the left arm of Kenneth.

"We have you surrounded." announced Ichika, holding Yukihira in a ready stance.

The black machines looked up, observing their surroundings. Indeed, they were surrounded, the entire class holding out their blades. Chifuyu and Yamada stayed back. The three machines showed no hint of worry. The leader one, the "Black Knight" nodded towards another machine, one looking like a _G Fighter_ Gundam.

In an instant, the pilot withdrew and threw two boomerang weapons, knocking back the class, and firing a beam attack at the non-personal IS holders, besides Houki. The class was knocked out, and the machines went back to looking at Kenneth.

"You monsters!" yelled Ichika, charging the pilots with Reiraku Byakuya. The "Black Knight" materialized an energy halberd, and blocked Ichika's swing.

"Pathetic..." it said in a low tone. With a lazy flick of a wrist, the "black knight" disarmed Ichika, and punched Ichika square in the chest, launching him several yards away.

"Ichika!" the girls screamed, dashing to his side.

"You ok?" asked Rin.

"Yeah...I'm fine..." grunted Ichika. He checked on his energy gauge; it was at 1 unit. _Just who the hell are these guys?_

Charles stayed in place, staring at the situation. Tearing a bit, he charged at the IS units, wielding a piledriver-like weapon. The bulky one, retracting the wire from Kenneth's arm, grabbed Charles' arm mid-swing, and manhandled him. A tiny light scanned Charles head from the helmet of the machine.

"Boy..." the machine said, yelling into Charles' face. "Do you think that just because you're in an Infinite Stratos armor that you're some type of SUPER SOLDIER?" The machine tossed Charles with the rest of the personal IS pilots.

The helmets of the machines slowly pulled back, revealing the faces of three middle aged women. The leader had a visible scar from the upper part of her forehead to the bottom of her lip, a military-shaven head. The women in the bulky mech had a purple lining in her black hair. The last one had a blonde shag cut. If anything, the women all looked beautiful if it wasn't for the burning hatred in their eyes.

"We were the original super soldiers before the IS was even announced. Projects long-forgotten now." the blonde one said.

"We did our mission, we should leave." mentioned the black haired one. The three pilots started floating away from Kenneth's body. Ichika, Charles and the girls rushed to Kenneth's motionless body.

"...Why? Why this?" asked Cecelia.

"It's our mission to evaluate the super soldiers of our group... This was expected, and inevitable... even for the class combat Valedictorian."

"What?" The surviving classmates said.

The leader chuckled. "Of course. He never told you of his past... We should wake him up for this." She tossed over a small syringe to Charles.

"I'd hurry about injecting that if I were you. Cyanide does horrible things to the body."

Widening his eyes, Charles stabbed the needle to Kenneth's right arm.

A second past. And another...

**"WWAAAHHHHH!"** Kenneth jumping to his feet and ran behind the foreign trio.

Catching his breathe, he checked his left arm, revealing that it was a synthetic arm to the Personal IS Holders and Houki.

"Wha...? What is that...?" pointed out Ichika.

Kenneth completely ignored Ichika's question. "What the hell...?" Kenneth gasped. "Cutting it a bit close isn't it?"

The classmates simply started at Kenneth, as he was rather familiar with the foreign pilots.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." said the black-haired one, lightly punching Kenneth on the shoulder.

"Kenneth. Do you know these people?" cautiously asked Rin.

"Of course he does. He was, no _is_, our greatest pupil. The Combat Protégé , the Hitokiri of STARIS, The Son of the Three, Invierno Muertos... Kenneth Arthur Buyuu."

Kenneth looked down. "Don't say my middle name."

"An assassin?" questioned Ichika.

The three pilots grinned. Holding out their arms. they created a video projection of Kenneth's actions. Through the multiple images, it shown Kenneth brutally taking down multiple IS pilots at once, sniping others, and destroying military bases.

Kenneth's eyes started watering. The remaining class watched in horror. The video stopped with Kenneth gripping a dead girl's body, screaming on top of a field of snow, a burning factory in the background.

"Does coming to the IS Academy have a second meaning? Like redemption? After you lost your love during Operation Zulu, you went on a mission rampage, slaughtering over a hundred IS pilots in a single month, and that's only the USA... The greatest shame that STARIS ever had; a berserk STARIS pilot. " asked the black-haired one.

"Redemption?" Kenneth scoffed, stifling a tear. "No, the curses of my past will haunt me forever, that I cannot and will not erase. What I want is someone to understand. And so far, no-one ever will."

"What made you stop?" asked the leader.

"A dream. And once I did stop, I saw what extremes I did to finish the missions. All overly extreme takedowns, leaving no survivors. I did what I had to do... To spread my sorrow to the ones that created it... The Infinite Stratos." Kenneth's face harden. Dead silence hung between the two groups.

"And you never wanted any of us to know?" asked Rin, finally speaking out. Kenneth looked at her, she was fearful of him.

"...Yes; some people can't handle truths behind people, and their faces. I'm a soldier, and I will fight until the day that we no longer need weapons like myself."

"Well said, Kenneth. Now, we must enforce our creed. If you please?"

Kenneth looked at his friends in sorrow. "Those that lay their eyes on a member of STARIS...Shall be silenced." Ichika, Charles and the girls all suddenly collapsed.

"Experimental U0126 drug isn't it?" asked Kenneth, a tear trickling down his face.

"A short term memory loss drug. They will forget we were here. All that you need to do is fill in the blanks."

"Fascinating tid-bit if you ask me." said a voice behind the four standing. Chifuyu and Yamada walked towards them, arms crossed.

"Well, well, well." said the leader. "Chifuyu Orimura, Agent of the Defense Intelligence Division of STARIS."

Chifuyu nodded. "Mélissa Armén." the leader nodded, "Sarah Campbell." the black-haired girl chuckled. "And Emily Smith." the blonde giggled.

"Sharks division of STARIS, right?" questioned Yamada, thought it sounded more assertive.

"Ha, yup." answered Armén.

"Don, GW and Double H. My retainers during those days." said Kenneth.

"Of course...Mako." laughed Campbell.

Chifuyu sighed. "You just had to choose now, didn't you?"

"We asked the Dean." shrugged Smith. "She didn't seem to mind."

"What are we going to tell the rest of the class when they wake up?" asked Yamada.

"Simple. They all challenged Kenneth... And got their asses handed to them."

Yamada rose an eyebrow, but the other's disregarded her.

"But there is another reason why we came." pointed out Campbell, turning to Kenneth.

"A member of the German Schwarzer Hase is coming to the Academy. Along with guarding Ichika, you are assigned to evaluate this person first hand."

Kenneth snapped to attention. "Yes, ma'am. Sorry about the wing Double H."

"It's nothing but a short fix." she reassured.

The three started to boast upwards. "Kenneth remember. U0126 has a downside, certain words will trigger recall. I can trust you will be careful?" Kenneth nodded.

The three faded from the visible spectrum and flew off in a dust cloud.

"Uuuhhhh..." grunted Cecelia.

"We better help them up." said Kenneth.

* * *

><p><strong>April 16, 2022- IS Academy-Room 1-1 - 1300 Hours<strong>

* * *

><p>"I still can't wrap my head around the fact that you beat us all." wondered Cecilia.<p>

Kenneth waved his hand. "What did expect? I'm that good." While the entire class didn't _want _to believe him, they still didn't want to challenge that.

"Alright everyone settle down." said Yamada. "Kenneth you have an announcement."

Kenneth stood up, walking to the front of the room. "Under the declaration of the Dean of the Academy, I will not be participating in the Inter-class Tournament."

The class started muttering the around, some questioned why, others wondered if it was because Kenneth defeated all of them.

"However... I will be holding special training classes for those that wish to participate the tournament, starting Saturday at 0905 hours. The first 40 students will be attending. The sign-up is outside this door. Rin, Cece, Ich (**A/N: **Pronounced ee-ch), and Charles, I have already signed up guys up."

The four looked at each other, wondering how they got roped in his plans.

"And now we have another student in the class! Please come in!"

The door slid open. A young women with grey hair marched in, her uniform baggy around her hips. An eye patch around her left eye.

_So she must be from Schwarzer Hase._ thought Kenneth, sitting down.

"I am Laura Bodewig!" she said with authority to the class.

Everyone stared in confusion, as Chifuyu walked it with her clipboard. "Instructor." Laura saluted.

"It's no longer 'Instructor' Bodewig. It's Orimura-sensei for now on. Please take your seat."

"Yes ma'am."

Laura then walked over to Ichika. "So it's you..."

"Wha...?" Just before Ichika could finish, Laura violently smacked Ichika in the face.

"How could you be her brother? So weak... I will never accept it!"

* * *

><p><strong>1830 Hours- IS Academy- Cafeteria<strong>

* * *

><p>Ichika, Charles, Kenneth, Cecilia, Rin and Houki all sat at one table, happily munching on their food. After Laura had slapped Ichika in front of the entire class, most of the posse group that followed the boys disappeared, probably in fear of Laura. Kenneth reviewed the information that he got from her.<p>

_Laura Bodewig_

_IS Cadet Representative of Germany_

_IS: Schwarzer Regen... Special Ability: Active Inertia Canceller_

Kenneth knew that she was a member of STARIS, but he wondered if she knew he was as well, which was more than likely... and probably Kenneth's Incident.

"Hey, Earth to Kenneth... You still there?" asked Charles.

"Yeah... I'm still here." answered Kenneth.

The girls, Charles and Ichika stared awkwardly at Kenneth. "Did something happen today?" asked Cecilia.

"No, no. I'm fine."

_Liar._ Kenneth thought.

In actually, Kenneth was mentally and physically drained. The Phoenix Overdrive unlocks the darkest emotions of the human heart; fear, anger, apathy and hatred. In reality, Kenneth should be in the infirmary, but as the duty of Ichika's guardian, he must continue. It was what the Three called "The Spirit of a Soldier", the drive to continue no matter the cost of the body...

Kenneth got up. "I think I'll be going to bed soon..." he said, acting sleepily.

"Alrighty then, night Kenneth." said Ichika.


	9. Our Roommate is a Blonde GentleWoman

**Disclaimer: I do not know anything by IS: Infinite Stratos or any other mentioned characters/merchandise. They belong to their respected owners. However, original characters all belong to me, Grayjedi-Productions...**

* * *

><p><strong>April 17, 2022-IS Academy- Stadium Battlegrounds- 0906 Hours<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>(Main theme is Heaven's Divide from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker...Trust me, it'll make more sense as the fanfiction continues)<strong>

* * *

><p>Ichika, Rin, Cecilia and Charles sat on the bleaches of the Stadium, along with 36 other girls from a mixture of classes. The commotion with each other escalated as the sun rose for the day.<p>

"So where is Kenny?" asked Charles. "Being a military guy, I don't expect him to be late to anything..."

"Yeah, even if it's by a minute or so..." continued Ichika.

"Maybe he got caught up with Theory class? He was talking with Chifuyu after class." wondered Cecelia.

"And what's with the nicknames already?" All four of them shrugged.

The past view days have been a blur for everyone. The addition of Laura Bodewig in the class didn't really change much of the class's daily functions; she was usually quiet in the back of the room. Most the students left her alone, ever since she slapped Ichika across the face.

"I still can't remember that fight against Kenny on Tuesday." said Rin, breaking the groups silence.

"I wonder how he managed to defeat the entire class..."

"Take a good look, everyone." said a booming voice behind everyone. The class turned to see Kenneth standing tall, arms crossed, slowing walking down the flight of stairs.

"This will be your new home for the next couple of days training." he continued. "Each section is about two hours long. Those that didn't sign up...they are the one's getting off easy." The class mumbled at Kenneth's words, worrying over his serious tone.

"I'll be your instruction, mentor, whatever you want to call me...I WON"T be your boyfriend. If you want one of those, ask Ichika." All the girls giggled in delight at his statement; Ichika titled his head in confusion.

"Alright. Let's get to work." Kenneth said firmly.

* * *

><p><strong>1045 Hours- IS Academy- Stadium Battlegrounds<strong>

* * *

><p>"Be ready to fight through pain, ladies!" yelled Kenneth, dashing back and forth from end to end of the stadium. The entire class has been switching between dual practicing with swords, and sprints that Kenneth called "Herbies". The class weren't allowed to fly from point to point; instead, they ran on the legs of the IS machines.<p>

"Good. Under 45 seconds." Kenneth nodded, watching the class bend over, trying to catch their breathe.

One of the girls got herself up from bending over. "Why are we doing this?" she demanded. The rest of the class turned their attention to her.

"The IS we use switch to a hovering stance above the ground. Legs are hardly any use for us during combat!" Some the girls nodded in agreement.

A small smirk grew across Kenneth's face._ A skeptic, eh?_ He let out a loud sigh. "Very well, if you must know, it will need a demonstration." Kenneth quickly scanned over the girls. "Ah perfect! You, what's your name?"

All the girls backed away from the one that Kenneth was pointing at.

"Uhhh...Aikawa Kiyoka..." she said shyly.

"I see." Kenneth slowly glided towards her, and circled her, looking over her entire body. Some of the girls took notice and became flustered.

"You must do some type of sports in the Academy, right? Anything in particular?" he said, continuing to circle around her.

"I'm on the handball team." she blushed.

"Wonderful, perhaps I will see a game then." Her face became bright red.

He stopped right next to her. _Got it._ A bright orange light emitted from Kenneth's body and IS, forcing the class to shield their eyes. When the light withdrew, they saw two Aikiawa's standing in the same position staring at each other.

"Well, that was simple enough." one of the Aikiawa's said, walking away. The tone style was same, despite the change in voice; It was obviously Kenneth.

Drawing out a sword from the Uchigane, the Aikiawa clone got into a ready stance. "Alright then...Ich, attack me at full force. Use the Barrier Void Attack or Reiraku Byakuya if you deem it necessary."

Ichika was confused. "What? In that IS? You looking for a death wish?"

"Aikiawa" remained silent.

"Alright... Here I go!" Ichika charged head-on to the Aikiawa clone, taking the first swing with Yukihira. The swing hit directly on...except the clone was no longer there anymore, just a faded image. The sword cut right through, and Ichika tumbled swinging at air.

"What's the matter Ichika? I said for you to hit me!" "Aikiawa" stood a good 5 meters away from where "she" was standing earlier.

Ichika regained his composure and charged again, with the same result.

"What the hell Orimura? Aim properly!"

5 tries later, and Ichika was getting the same result. Again and again, the Aikiawa clone somehow teleported away from Ichika's clone. Ichika felt his blood pressure rise, as after every swing, the clone chastised him.

"Alright Kenny! You asked for it!" Ichika lifted himself from the air and build up the Reiraku Byakuya attack. Glowing golden, Ichika flew in random patterns around the clone, trying to get her off guard.

_An opening!_ exclaimed Ichika. Ichika blasted his way towards the clone, seeing "her" back.

"Aikiawa" grinned. Cleverly side stepping Ichika's swing, "Aikiawa" mightily swung at Ichika's back, knocking him directly to the floor.

Ichika checked his shields. Sixty percent gone.

"And that" Kenneth's body slowly distilled itself back to reality "is the secret to beat anyone in Academy, representative or not."

Kenneth started pacing back and forth, behind Ichika's body. "Like all ISs, the Uchigane, despite it being mass produced, has a special ability. What you just saw is something I like to called 'E-Jump'."

"Using endurance on the legs, the Uchigane generates amazing speeds for quick evasions. Most girls can't do it because they don't have the physical endurance to do so. With this group... I can only hope so." Ichika slowly got himself to his feet, groan for Kenneth's rather cocky words.

"Sorry about that, but I just wanted to prove a point." apologized Kenneth, offering a hand.

"You're an ass at times, you know that?" coughed Ichika, grabbing it.

"It's what I do best." He turned his attention to the class. "That's all what I have today, everyone... Dismissed!"

* * *

><p><strong>1212 Hours- IS Academy Stadium-Battlegrounds<strong>

* * *

><p>After a quick lunch, the group was outside in the stadium training. Kenneth saw a few of the girls from earlier practice the E-Jump maneuver, not paying attention to Houki, Rin and Cecilia jabbered to Ichika on tactics during a match.<p>

_Not a single coherent thought could be made through the girls all talking at once._ remarked Kenneth.

"Let me to you guys straight... I don't understand any of it!" yelled back Ichika, frustrated.

"What? What couldn't you possibly understand?" screamed the girls.

"Kenny, help me out here." nudged Ichika.

"I'm sorry, huh?"

Ichika snorted and sighed.

Kenneth understood his frustration as well. Unknown to Ichika and the group, Kenneth still feeling the after-effects of the Phoenix Overdrive. As a pilot of the Scion Initiates, the Phoenix Overdrive was considered a "desperation attack"; a fight or die response with the human spirit. Regarded as "needless" the Phoenix Overdrive made the pilots forget nearly everything that pertained to self-preservation. Only thing that was let was the absolute desire to destroy the enemy. Unlocking the darkest emotions of the human psyche, the pilot became the "perfect soldier" ; all that remains is the mission.

However, once the Overdrive was done, pilots experienced different ranges of withdrawal, some including loss of appetite, twitchiness, or even suicidal and murderous tendencies. Given his past with the ISs, Kenneth considered himself lucky for not thinking about how to blow the entire Academy sky-high. Just the multiple assassination techniques that he could use against the girls that past by, and the occasional death glare.

"Hey Ichika." said a voice, grabbing the small groups attention. It was Charles in his Raphael-Revive Custom II. "How about a duel? I want to see Byakushiki in action!"

The two glided towards the center, and the girls in the stadium drew their attention to the two boys about to duel. With a start of a horn, both boys flew straight into the air. Ichika started with a charge, only to be avoided and countered by Charles' SMG fire. Kenneth looked down and shook his head.

"What's the matter Kenny?" asked Houki.

"He's going to get himself absolutely curb-stomped." he retorted.

Cecilia shook her head. "I don't think that you give Ichika any cred..." Kenneth shot back at her with a death glare, stopping her mid-sentence.

"Damn guy's been acting like a bitch on a period since Wednesday." whispered Rin to Houki. Kenneth heard, but didn't say anything to it. They _were_ right.

just a few short few seconds, the match bell rang. Charles had won, not taking any damage to his shields.

"Told you." snarked Kenneth, gliding towards duelers. The girls made faces at him.

"Come-on" said Charles. "We gotta get you to a charging station to get your shields back."

**(A few minutes later)**

"So the main reason why you can't beat Cecilia and Rin is because you haven't grasped the nuance of ranged weapons." pointed out Charles.

"So that's the case huh..." thought aloud Ichika.

"The Ignition Boost works, but if they see you coming, you're pretty much screwed. You really can't change direction with the IB; it's a straight line."

Ichika thought about it for a while, until Charles interjected again. "Doesn't Byakushiki have an equalizer?"

Ichika shook his head. "I checked earlier, there's no more bus slots."

Charles cupped his head with his hand, in the thinker's position. "I guess that you only have an one-off ability."

"What does mean?"

"'One-and-Only' ability. Usually when the IS and the pilot are in full synergy with each other. But to have one only in the first shift..."

Kenneth stood silence, digitally recording and saving the conversation between the two. While the basic duty was for Kenneth to attend the IS Academy for spying mission on ISs, a secondary objective was to understand more of Ichika's Byakushiki IS. _It sounds more and more like the "White" and "Black" knight IS/SI armors_.

"So Byakushiki's unique point is the Reiraku Byakuya, isn't it? Like Rin's Dragon Cannons?"

"Yeah I guess."

"Well then what's your unique point on the Raphael Revive Custom II then?" finally joined in Kenneth.

"The mobile armory of weapons I have!" Charles said proudly.

"How many?"

"About...20 different equalizers." Ichika dropped his jaw at the shear amount of weapons. Kenneth slightly smiled.

"Isn't that like... 3, 4 times the average equalizers on an average Raphael Revive?" asked Kenneth.

"Yeah, that's about right."

Kenneth laughed. "Alright Aznable."

Charles looked at Kenneth weirdly. Ichika simply cocked an eyebrow. "Aznable? As in Char Aznable? From _Gundam_?"

"Yeah...Can't you see it? An off-colored mech from a standard with three times the weapons...Therefore Aznable."

Charles slightly got the idea. "It's a nice nickname, but I think that 'Char' will do better."

Kenneth and Ichika smiled. "Very well, Char it is then."

"Well might as well get to some shooting practice then!" gleamed Charles with a grin, walking to the shooting range area of the Battlegrounds. Kenneth and Ichika trailed behind.

Arriving at the firing range, Charles gave Ichika a 55 caliber Vent Assault rifle,

"Here you go! Try and hit those targets!"

"Wait... How am I using this?" Ichika fumbled the rifle in his hands, trying to get accustomed to the weight.

"Usually the weapons are locked to only personal use, but I unlocked for you. So go ahead, try!"

Kenneth withdrew a revolver-like gun, and quickly fired three shots down field. Each center target was hit. Doing a fancy trick with the revolver, Kenneth looked at both of them.

"What?"

"That's a .5 Peacewalker Revolver isn't?" asked Charles.

"You got it. Damn thing is always handy in a pinch."

"Minus the reloading."

Eyes on the two, Kenneth fired three more rounds down field, ejected the casings and reloaded the revolver in one fluid motion. Spinning it, he said. "I think I'm fine with that."

Charles and Ichika quickly got back to where they were. "So like this?" Ichika gripped the gun loosely on the hip.

"Hold on." Charles got behind him, helping adjust his arms. "Close your armpit, and move your...that's it." Charles let go, and stood back.

With a crack, Ichika fired the rifle, just missing the bull's-eye.

"Wow, I didn't expect that." Ichika said relieved.

"I think you missed judged that." said Kenneth, eyes poised down range. "The armor should have negated most of the recoil."

"And I didn't see any firing solution pop-up next to your eye." added Charles.

"Is it supposed to?"

Kenneth dematerialized the revolver in exchange for a modified battle rifle. "It's supposed to. Even CQB armors should have one."

Ichika looked at the sky in disgust. _Why does this thing always have a flaw?_

"Perhaps it's a 100% Close Combat Fighter frame." Charles said with a shrug. "Well, I guess you'll have to go without."

"Hey, I used to train without any scopes with the sniper rifles. You simply get used to it."

The three boys started firing down range together, with side conversations. "This is why you always get some damage to the shields when you're fighting Rin or Cecilia." said Charles. "They attack at a range that you can't get a good swing at."

"Huh. I understand now."

Unknown to the boys, Houki, Rin and Cecilia were eavesdropping on the conversation, in their full IS armors.

"What the hell? I explained that to him multiple times!" pouted Rin.

"What an idiot." sighed both Houki and Cecilia.

The boys continued their target practice. "So Kenny, why were you late today?" asked Ichika.

"I was... delayed."

* * *

><p><strong>0854 Hours-IS Academy- Gym<strong>

* * *

><p>The gym was devoid of people, except for one girl. Second Lieutenant Laura Bodewig was a proud women, and rightfully so. A full blooded German, Laura took precious care of her body, fine tuning it into an Infinite Stratos killing machine. As a member of STARIS and the Schwarzer Hase, their mission for life was to act as a vanguard for humanity against any possible insurgency of IS pilots. Starting off her day with daily training, Laura began with chin-ups.<p>

"Laura Bodewig?" said a voice.

Letting go of the bar, Laura scanned the room. From out of the shadows, a man appeared in full military combat uniform. Laura recognized him, it was that Kenneth Buyuu, the man that shamed STARIS a year ago.

"What do you want, Son of the Three?" she asked, as if stating a direct order.

"Such a harsh tone..." Laura keep her keen eye on him. He began unbuttoning his uniform. Tossing it to the floor, Laura spotted Kenneth unusual left arm, a silver-ish sheen sparkled in the light.

"The Scion Initiates sent their regards." he said, adapting the CQC stance.

"And the Schwarzer Hase have their response." replied Laura, removing her eye patch, revealing her golden eye.

The two quickly jumped at each other, exchanging a furry of blows. Although a few punches and kicks, they stayed at neutral ground with out another. Taking a combat knife from her pants, Laura quickly gripped it at Kenneth's throat.

"Hn. You're good. Really good." admitted Kenneth. Laura grinned evilly. "However..."

Kenneth swatted away Laura's hand, contorting his left arm in an unnatural way, knocking her knife in the air. With a combat takedown, Kenneth landed himself on top of Laura, taking a knife out of his pants as well. Grabbing Laura's knife on it's descent, Kenneth shoved both knifes on Laura's neck.

"You could use some improvisation." Kenneth got himself off Laura and handed back her knife. Laura muttered a low German curse word that roughly translated to "fuckwad."

Laura turned her back and walked to chin-up bars, "Just stay out of my way, American and I will have no quell with you."

"Sure, whatever you want... Blitz."

* * *

><p>"What? No way..." said a girl in awe.<p>

"Is that the new German 3rd Gen. Model? I thought it was still in development."

On the launching pad area, stood Laura Bodewig in her Schwarzer Regen. Kenneth didn't need to scan Laura's mech; he did so earlier in the week seeing Laura train by herself.

_An Active Inertia Canceller Projector would be nice for the "Shadow Dance." but unnecessary all together._ he thought.

"So I see that you have your own IS." said Laura, pointing at Ichika. "So fight me, now."

"...No." he said.

"Why?"

"I have no reason to fight you."

"You don't, I do. If it wasn't for you, Instructor Orimura would have become champion. I will never agree to your existence for that."

"Wait what?" asked Charles. Kenneth nodded his head, he understood.

"During the second Mondo Grosso Tournament, I was kidnapped by some mysterious organization." explained Ichika, eyes not shifting away from Laura. "Chifuyu saved me, but it cost her the championship match. She got where I was from the German Military, and she repaid them by being an instructor for a year."

Charles nodded in understanding. Kenneth, on the other hand, knew the truth behind it from his history course of the STARIS. During the initial days of the IS, STARIS was still a basic operations union between nations. From Germany, the Schwarzer Hase had been spying on the very same group that kidnapped Ichika, who only referred to themselves as "Albatross".

Through the Schwarzer Hase, Chifuyu was able to save Ichika before they used him as bait to get a hands on Chifuyu's Yukihira blade. Later on, that group "Albatross" grew until it merged with a group of similar interest, Phantom Task, the current enemy of the STARIS.

"So will you fight or not?" said an impatient Laura.

"Maybe next time."

"Fine then I will force you to fight me." She quickly charged and fired a round from her heavy rail gun. A explosive cloud erupted at Ichika's location.

"Idiot." muttered Laura, as a dust cloud engulfed the spot where she shot. From the smoke clouds was Charles with an IS shield. A large dent was left from the impact.

"This is unnecessary, Blitz" growled Kenneth, taking out his short katana and hachiwara.

"Germans sure at hot tempered, huh?" accused Charles. "It must be all that beer and brains, right?"

Laura gritted her teeth, forcing herself calm down over a grave insult.

Kenneth didn't change his glaze at Laura. "Ok now, just calm down. No need of cause a Third World War."

"What the heck is going on down there? State your name and class!" yelled an instructor over the intercom.

"Hn. I'll retreat for now." Laura's IS quickly dematerialized in a white sparkle. "Come between my target again Buyuu..."

* * *

><p><strong>1500 Hours-IS Academy- Men's Locker Room<strong>

* * *

><p>"Now that was a good workout!" exclaimed Ichika. "Let's hit the showers!"<p>

Ichika and Kenneth quickly starting getting unchanged, removing their shirts. Charles stood there, frozen.

"You getting changed or what?" asked Kenneth abrasively.

"...Nah." Charles quickly got his stuff out of the locker.

"Well, why won't you change with us?" asked Ichika. "We're all guys here."

"Why...I just...feel awkward." Kenneth shot Ichika a quick shot glance of "He-probably-gay".

A soft knock was heard from the main door. "Are you boys done changing?" said a voice. It was Maya Yamada. Ichika and Kenneth got their extra workout clothing on.

"Yeah, we're good."

Yamada walked in, holding a clipboard. "Ah, there you are! Ichika, I got some paperwork for you on the Byakushiki." She turned towards Kenneth. "And there's a few things that you need to fill out as well in my office."

Kenneth looked confused. "What for?" Yamada shrugged her shoulders.

"Alright...Guess we'll see you later Charles." said Ichika. Kenneth gave Charles a quick salute. "We'll shower later."

As the three walked away, Charles leaned up against the lockers. _Why am I getting flustered by this? I really need to take a shower; cool off._

* * *

><p><strong>1545 Hours-IS Academy-Main Sidewalks<strong>

* * *

><p>"So you're officially the pilot of Byakushiki. Congrats Ich." said Kenneth.<p>

"Yeah...What was on your paperwork?"

"Just some maintenance things. Nothing major."

The pair continued to walked down the paved sidewalk until they starting hearing two people arguing. Nodding, they paced their walk to a nearby pond on campus where the voices were coming from. There stood Laura Bodewig and Chifuyu Orimura.

"Why don't you come back to Germany, Instructor? You're wasting your talents here!" bawled Laura.

"My talents aren't being wasted here... And learn to respect your superiors, Bodewig." rebuked Chifuyu coldly. Laura started tearing up, and left in a huff.

Kenneth and Ichika hid behind some trees nearby. Chifuyu looked at their general direction after Laura was a sufficient distance away. "Alright, I know that you're hiding there, so come up."

Ichika came out, hands above his head in surrender. Kenneth followed suit.

"Prying into other people's business is punishable you know that? Especially between students and their teachers?" she questioned, thought it sounded more accusing. Her features however became lax.

"This is be your only warning. I trust that this will never happen again?"

"Yes ma'am." they both said.

**(A few minutes later)**

Kenneth collapsed on the couch, taking out his IPhone. The sound of the shower was heard from the bathroom.

"Hey Ichika, did you replace the body soap?" asked Kenneth.

"Oh...whoops." A crumpled paper hit Ichika's head.

Ichika went to the storage cabinet, and took out a medium-sized bottle. He then processed to walk to the bathroom.

"Hey Charles," said Ichika, opening the door. "I forgot to replace the old soap, so here's an..." Ichika stared at the figure that stood in the shower. It was Charles for certain, the hair length was the same, but instead of a mature 16-17 year old body of a boy, was a mature 17-18 year body of _girl_. The two stood staring at each other.

"I...uhhhh." Charles said, covering up "her"self

"Here's the soap." Ichika handed Charles the soap, blushing slightly.

Kenneth looked over the couch, saw Charles, and went back to his IPhone.

It wasn't new to see a girl's naked figure for Kenneth, the men and women of the Scion Initiates were rather..._well-acquainted_ with each other's naked bodies. For them, gender proved no obstacle, like playing shirts and skins football, and the men of Scion Initiates practically got used to the idea, despite the perverted jokes that they always told, and the multiple awkward moments of walking back to the barracks.

Ichika quickly got himself seated on the couch. "So now what do we do?"

"Wait." Kenneth closed his eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>1645 Hours-IS Academy-Room 1044<strong>

* * *

><p>The door the bathroom finally opened, as Charles quickly whipped her hair into a ponytail. She quickly took a seat on the opposite side of the coffee table. No one said a thing. Ichika stood up.<p>

"Sooooo how about some tea?" asked Ichika, trying to make a conversation.

"I...I'd like that." said Charles. Ichika got up, and set up some teacups on a tray. He handed one to cup Charles. She grabbed it hesitantly, grabbing Ichika's hand. Quickly pulling back her hand, she accidentally spilled the tea on Ichika's arm.

"AAHHHHH! HOT!" Ichika screamed, rushing into the bathroom.

"I'm so sorry!" squealed Charles, following behind. Kenneth, however, stayed on the couch, chuckling.

"Uhhh... Charles? Your...uhhh.. breasts are kinda rubbing against my arm."

Kenneth started laughing aloud.

Charles quickly pulled herself away from Ichika, standing in the doorway of the restroom. She turned Kenneth first, then Ichika. "Both of you are perverts..." she said sounding disapprovingly, yet in a "cute" way.

"What did I do?" exasperated Ichika, Kenneth continued chuckled.

**(One long explanation later)**

"So yes, I was originally coming here to gather information on Ichika's Byakushiki, until you showed up Kenneth. My mission then switched to you."

Kenneth glared at Charles, but he was simply keeping a facade. STARIS members with the Dunois Company would be keeping the peace by not watching the third largest IS manufacturing corporation. If anything, STARIS would directly give Dunois Company a few Anti-IS weapons to analyze.

"The orders of my father. Despite never seeing him, I had followed what he said to do to the dot."

"So what happens now?" asked Ichika.

"Since you guys already know about my existence, I'll probably be recalled to France. After that... I don't know, jail at least." she stared at the ground, a defeated look poised on her face.

"That's not right... You can't just do that!" shouted Ichika. Kenneth looked at him, concerned; he had never seen Ichika so upset about something.

"Wha...? Ichika..." whispered Charles.

"I know the loss of parents... Chifuyu and I were abandoned by our parents." he tried stifling his tears. "Just stay here."

"What? How?"

"IS Academy Manuel, page 217, Chapter: IS Pilot Rights, paragraph 1." recited Kenneth. "Clause 21: Students attending this academy will not be affiliated to any country, organization or syndicate." The other two stared at him, amazed at his memory.

"With that in mind, we'll guard your secret, if you want to stay." said a stoic Kenneth. He knew the clause more so of being "hypocritical" there was an entire world that had their hands on the students, secret or not. But it's not like Kenneth would say anything against it.

"I'll...I-I-I'll stay." Charles said, relieved, relaxing herself.

"Ah, Charles?" said a blushing Ichika. "You're cleavage is showing... again."

Charles looked down at her chest. Zipping it up, she said. "You've been fixated on my breasts...Is it because you want to see them?"

Ichika palmfaced, while Kenneth rose an eyebrow. A loud knock was heard from the main door. The boys quickly rushed Charles to her bed.

Cecilia walked it, looking for Ichika. Noticing Charles' door open, she poked her head in. She said Kenneth and Charles surrounding Charles' bed.

"Huh? Oh, hey Cece." said Kenneth.

"Sorry, but Charles is feeling abit under the weather, right?"

"Yeah..." coughed Charles.

Cecilia crossed her arms, slightly impatient. "Well, I was hoping that we were going to dinner soon."

Kenneth and Ichika walked with Cecilia out of the room, saying their goodbyes to Charles. Walking together, the trio walked a few feet from the main door, until...

"WHA-WHAT'S GOING ON?" a familiar voice said. The three turned around, it was Houki carrying a large bag.

"Oh hey Houki." slyly said Cecilia. She grabbed Ichika's arm. "We three were going to dinner _together_."

"WHY ARE YOU HOLDING ON TO HIM SO CLOSE?" Houki continued to scream.

"It's natural for a guy to escort a lady."

Houki threw a fit, while Kenneth simply grunted at the site. "Well then, I'm coming too!" Houki shot Ichika a death glare, as if saying that it was his fault.

"Eating too much will make you gain weight." Cecilia said in a sing-a-long tune.

"It wouldn't worry about that." Houki took out an object from a long bag she was holding on.

"What the? THAT'S A REAL KATANA?" said Ichika. Both girls quickly attached themselves to Ichika's arm. The clumped trio walked down the hallway awkwardly.

"Well now it's more like _I'm_ getting escorted down the...YYYAAHHHH!" The girls gave Ichika a purple nurple.

_I wish I had my video recorder_. thought Kenneth, walking behind them.

* * *

><p><strong>1745 Hours-IS Academy-Room 1044<strong>

* * *

><p>Charles laid on her bed, in the same position that the guys leave her in. A soft unlocking of the main door was heard. A soft shuffle of feet, followed by a knock on her door.<p>

"Knock, knock." said a soft voice. It was Kenneth, holding a small tray.

Charles sat up. "What you got there?"

Kenneth shrugged. "Just something for you, I guess. You're probably hungry."

"Yeah..." admitted Charles. "Where's Ichika?"

"The girls are still with him. It's pretty hilarious if you look at it."

Charles looked at him strangely. "You find humor out of the most weirdest of things."

"Well, whatever. I hope this is enough for you." Kenneth laid the tray on the bed. It was an assortment of sushi and sashimi.

Charles snapped the chop sticks down their breaking line. Noticing that Charles was having trouble picking up the food with chopsticks, Kenneth stood up saying, "I'll get you a fork if you want."

"No don't... I don't need it." she fumbled with the chopsticks. "Can... can you feed me using these?" she asked shyly.

Kenneth hesitated for a second, then nodded. Taking the chopsticks from her hands, he carefully picked a piece of sashimi.

"Here you go." he said, hovering the piece next to Charles mouth. She gladly told a bite, swallowing it.

"Thank you..." she said, still chewing on the food. Kenneth simply smiled. _So innocent_ thought Kenneth. _If only innocence would still remain in this world..._

"What I can't understand." Kenneth said, still feeding her "How you were able to hide your breasts with the IS jumpsuit."

Charles looked away for a second. "I really don't know." she admitted. "My father had a custom suit for me to wear. It cloaked my chest."

Kenneth thought about it for a second. He knew that some information on cloaking technologies was leaked to the Dunois Company by STARIS, hoping to keep a stagnant peace between the IS manufactures. _And with the Dunois Company having trouble with creating 3rd Gen. ISs..._

Before he knew it, the plate was empty.

"Thanks for the dinner." Charles said.

"Of course Char."


	10. Heil Schwarzer Hase!

**Disclaimer: I do not know anything by IS: Infinite Stratos or any other mentioned characters/merchandise. They belong to their respected owners. However, original characters all belong to me, Grayjedi-Productions...**

* * *

><p><strong>April 22, 2022-IS Academy- Stadium Battlegrounds- 1530 Hours<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>(Main theme is Heaven's Divide from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker...Trust me, it'll make more sense as the fanfiction continues)<strong>

* * *

><p>Kenneth stood with his back towards the launch pad, waiting for Cecilia and Rin to arrive. Another week had come and gone, and Kenneth's nightmares had become increasingly vivid.<p>

He dreamt of a white beach, sincere and clear, without a trace of war. A heaven maybe, as a white angel had descended upon that world, waiting passively for him. As the angel hovered towards him, he saw that the wings were mechanical, mimicking of bird. Coming closer, he saw who it was; Angel Victoria Adrian. He saw sadness in her eyes, but she did not speak. Creeping closer together, Kenneth noticed that her right arm had become mimicked the SI implants. Just before they could embrace each other, Kenneth woke up, cursing for a wonderful dream to be broken by reality.

Kenneth shook his head._ Perhaps for later. Back to the mission at hand._

As he promised earlier in the week, Kenneth was going to train Cecelia and Rin about their IS capabilities and a theoretical second shift for them. Kenneth reviewed the statistics over two cadet representatives. Even if they did second shift, they would still be no match for the STARIS members, no less then himself.

_It's been a year now, Angel comes in my dreams once again._ he continued thinking. _But what does she want me to do?_

Another thought lingered in his mind._ Laura Bodewig. Second Lieutenant. Cunning pilot. And overall bitch._

Despite them being members of STARIS, Laura had inclined herself to virtual isolation. Kenneth did try to start a conversation with her, only receive a death glare from her, which was pretty understandable; all of STARIS knew of Kenneth a year ago. Although he also knew she was rather pissed at something about Chifuyu leaving Germany, he'd seen that type of rage before; Kenneth had used it before. A mental etching in the back of their mind, the desire to complete the mission, and to damn the consequences.

And then there was Charles. After Ichika and him learned that Charles as a girl, the three had a few awkward run-ins with each other, such as changing their clothes and whatnot. However Kenneth noticed one thing about Charles. Even thought she admitted to have been trying to steal information about the Scion Initiate Armor, "Shadow Dance" she barred no ill-will about being caught. In fact, Kenneth and Charles have been talking quite a lot since that reveal, usually about nothing. Once again in Kenneth's life, he felt a type of connection, someone that could understand. Certainly, him and Cecilia were talking, but it was mainly on how much Ichika was extremely dense.

_Perhaps, but you know that you CAN'T be with her._

Kenneth frowned at his own thought and looked down at his left arm. On his ring finger was the ring that contained the information of the fallen comrades of the Scion Initiate Program...and the ring that Angel Adrian had got him a few weeks before Operation Zulu.

_A promise ring,_ he remembered Angel saying. _To the bitter end_.

**_I just never expected that the end would be so near_.**

Kenneth felt that he was trying to fight back tears, remembering the days that he and Angel spent sparing and training together. Perfect little soldiers, he remembered what the instructors called them. It didn't matter to the couple. They had each other.

Kenneth's daydreaming was interrupted when he heard footsteps behind him, turning around he saw Cecilia and Rin arguing over who is a better pilot.

"...In a straight up fight, I will destroy you!" slyly said Rin.

"The weakest dog barks the loudest." rebuked Cecilia.

"I hope that I'm not interrupting anything." said Kenneth, crossing his arms, returning to his slightly stoic viewpoint.

"So what is this about anyways?" asked Rin.

Kenneth chuckled. "Well, I'm glad you asked. I too have heard about these 'rumors' of dating Ichika and myself. 'Who ever wins the Tournament gets to choose which one she wants to go out with.' if I recall. The runner-up goes with the other choice."

Kenneth rose an eyebrow. "I hope that you guys will already accept my rejection."

The two frowned at him. "Seriously?" remarked Cecilia. "That's all you brought us out here for? And I thought we were actually going to do some training."

"That will come in due time." waved Kenneth, deploying his SI armor. "Now, what do you girls know about a second shift?"

Rin and Cecilia quickly deployed their armors as well. "Besides it being a special upgrade from the first form, and it being unique to the armors themselves not much." admitted Rin.

"I thought that's pretty much the case." added Cecilia.

"In essence, yes." replied Kenneth, keeping a relative monotone. "While any of the students of the IS Academy can use an IS, what many fail to realize that the IS cores are less or more sentient AI, even for the mass-produced versions. Personal IS holders would understand better. The bond between these machines and their pilots are a lot more than simple calculations and charts. What the pilot and the IS have is a bond that keeps one alive, a piece of you remains in these machines. And a piece it of becomes a part of you."

Kenneth let his words hang for a second before continuing. "What the second shift is a link to fully synchronize that A.I. In theory, becoming one. It's not an easy task; trust must be established by both parties before anything else."

"I never knew that Tabane Shinonono had designed it to that extent." thought aloud Cecilia. Rin nodded in agreement.

"Only Shinonono-san would know the science behind this." said Kenneth. "So here we are today. I'll try to have you two find a trusting bond with the IS cores. Different cores have different ways of gaining trust."

"So you'll help us with that?" the girls asked in unison.

"I don't see why not." shrugged Kenneth. _But this is a part which makes or breaks people_. he thought.

Despite what Kenneth was true, the exact opposite can occur too, where the machine and pilot are completely out-of-synch, leading to insanity. However, other's have found ways to exploit where the human part is no more, just a cold-killing machine. This was the job of STARIS to safety guard for these types of things to occur.

"But first what do you know about your ISs? Anything abnormal that you can think of?" continued Kenneth.

"Not off the top of my head..." said Rin. Cecilia shrugged in response.

_(Sigh) That was probably the case anyways_. Each IS core had a different personality bond with their pilot. After the Surgery, Kenneth was able to choose what personality input he wanted with "Shadow Dance."

But who knew that this would be his downfall?

Desperately trying to keep a memory of Angel, Kenneth made her personality the core AI of the SI armor. Vowing for revenge, Kenneth and the Angel core didn't synchronize, leading to The Incident; The slaughter of over a hundred dead IS pilots, rogue or otherwise. All in lost in his own grief and sorrow for Angel.

"I'm guessing that you already know what your second shift is then, huh?" asked Rin.

"Yes." Kenneth lied. As a member of the Scion Initiates, there was only half-shifting using the Shadow Dancer, and full-shifting, the Phoenix Overdrive. But the mechanics behind the Phoenix Overdrive were close enough to second shifting.

"So then how will you help us second shift?"

Kenneth thought over it for a second, then said. "I could show you two what it could look like."

Rin looked confused. "What? How?"

Cecilia smiled. "It's the 'Shadow Dancer', isn't it?"

Kenneth grinned. "I'm glad that you remembered."

Rin started to look irritated. "Seriously? What's going on?"

"Kenneth and I had a duel before I fought Ichika for class representative." explained Cecilia. "He used the Shadow Dancer ability to look like a perfect clone of me."

Kenneth smiled. _The drug really did delete their memories_. "But I could always disguise myself. It's part of my augments."

"Oh really?" questioned Rin. "Prove it."

A bright orange light suddenly erupted from Kenneth. Rin and Cecilia shielded their eyes. As the light receded, Rin was looking at herself. A perfect clone of her body features incased in a new type of Shenlong. Instead of natural black and purple colors, this one had a forest green theme to it. The two orbs that housed the Dragon Cannons were replaced by two dragon heads, both facing the opposite directions. In this Rin's hands, an energy spear shimmered a dark purple.

"Now do you believe me?" asked the "Rin" clone, matching her tone of voice exactly. Rin simply stared dumbfounded. Cecelia giggled.

"I always name my second shifts." said "Rin" slowing fading back to Kenneth. "For Cece, 'Blue Sorrows' and for Rin, 'Lu Bu'."

"Do you always need the dramatic lighting for shifting though?" asked Rin.

"Nope. I usually use it for 'shock and awe'." Kenneth admitted.

"So how are we supposed to achieve an understanding with our ISs?" asked Cecilia.

Kenneth materialized his short katana and hachiwara. "Through battle."

* * *

><p><strong>1629 Hours- IS Academy- Stadium Battlegrounds.<strong>

* * *

><p>Rin and Cecelia huffed and puffed bending over, while Kenneth stood there standing, still in a ready position.<p>

"It's been a hour. How are you guys tired?" asked Kenneth.

"Damned exercise freak..." muttered Cecilia.

"Perhaps I did go abit too far." Kenneth's armor dematerialized, as he scratched his head. "I'll get some drinks for all three of us." he said walking towards the locker rooms.

Cecilia and Rin sat down on ground, still in their IS armors. "I didn't expect him to get that strong. He didn't even use the 'Shadow Dancer'." said Rin.

"And he's not the USA Cadet Representative? How weird..." added Cecilia.

"He likes to keep a low profile." said a voice behind them.

The girls turned around to see Laura Bodewig watching from afar, arms crossed in her IS armor.

"How long have you been watching us?" said Rin.

"Long enough." Laura shifted to a battle stance. "He's a fool to try and teach you two about a second shift." She floated towards them, arms testing their grip.

"I wonder what he would get out of teaching a representative who's country relies on numbers to support itself... Or a country that relies on old relics of the past as their redeeming quality."

"It looks like someone's asking for a beating..." evilly grinned Rin.

"A two on one should be just fine." agreed Cecelia.

"Los geht's!"

* * *

><p><strong>1634 Hours- IS Academy- Men's Locker Room<strong>

* * *

><p>Kenneth picked up two Powerades from a vending machine. Casually looking at his synthetic arm, he saw that the battery power was needed to be charged again during the night. He sighed. <em>A few more months and my heart should be just fine<em>. he thought.

Three beeps radiated from his arm. Tapping a few hidden buttons on his arm, a small screen appeared before his eyes. **Urgent Message from Sharks Division**, it read. Looking around for anyone eavesdropping, he eyed the accept tab. A hologram of Mélissa Armén appeared before him.

"Midshipmen Kenneth Arthur Buyuu." the recording started. "If you are receiving this, we have a mission."

"At 0500 hours, PTZ, we received a transmission from one of our deep-cover agents in the Sharks, codename 'Zebra'. She had infiltrated one of Phantom Task's bases of operations, a medium-sized island in the Indian Ocean. However, the transmission itself was interrupted when a PT pilot cut her off."

She paused for a second. "Kenneth, if we pull this off, Phantom Task's operations against STARIS will be severely diminished. This is also a rescue mission. That's why I'm calling this mission a 'Bait Ball.'"

Bait Ball... **THE** most highest priority assignment. Kenneth quickly checked the recording list. He saw the mass list of different pilots, a majority of them being female, for the Shark's mission.

_She's not kidding... Calling a Bait Ball would attract all member of the Sharks Division and other special tasks groups in STARIS._

"If you are willing to accept this mission, Kenneth, depart the IS Academy at 0500 Hours tomorrow morning. One of our helicopters will be picking you up. End transmission." With that, the hologram shorted out, only leaving a static background.

Kenneth grinned. "Mission Accepted." he said to the hologram static.

**Response Sent**

* * *

><p><strong>1636 Hours-IS Academy-Stadium Battlegrounds<strong>

* * *

><p>Despite the two's best efforts, Laura was constantly faster and stronger than both of them, evading many attacks. Getting bored, Laura unleashed a large purple rope-like grapple at the girls, gripped around Cecilia's and Rin's necks, squeezing until they started to blackout.<p>

Laura then closed in on Cecilia, violently shattering the armor on the wings of the armor. Wheeling around to Rin, she crushed her arm guards, tossing the shattered remains off to the side.

"Laura! Stop!" yelled Ichika, pounding on the shields to the arena. Houki and Charles searched around the arena for Kenneth, who was supposed to be with them. Laura, oblivious or simply ignoring, continued her brutality against the two.

Backing away from the shields, Ichika deployed Byakushiki.

"Ichika! What are you doing?" said Houki.

"I'm going to stop her..." growled Ichika, taking a mighty swing at the shield barriers, breaking them.

Ichika boosted towards Laura, sword ready when Laura, without ever looking at Ichika, rose her arm, halting him a strange barrier field.

"What the...? I can't move..." muttered Ichika.

_Just like any other IS pilot... They think they're Super Soldiers..._ thought Laura. She then took out her a beam saber and slashed Ichika, removing a majority of his shields. _This is why STARIS will forever be superior to IS._

"Ichika! Out of the way!" yelled Charles, diving bombing at Laura, firing her assault rifle.

Laura let go of Ichika in the AIC, and focused on Charles, as the two zoomed in the skies, returning fire at each other.

Ichika grabbed both Cecilia and Rin and took them off to the side. "You two alright?"

"Yeah... We'll be fine." struggled Cecilia.

"This is embarrassing..." mumbled Rin.

Ichika sighed, both were still conscience. Turning back to Charles and Laura, the two were still fighting.

Extending the purple grapple hook again, Laura caught on to Charles left arm. The hook started retracting, as Charles took out a submachine gun and fired. Laura charged in with her beam saber, slashing the submachine gun from Charles hand, and uppercutted Charles into the air.

Charles landed hard on the ground. Laura walked up to Charles, flipping her beam saber around.

"I will show you the fury of STA..." just as Laura was about to finish off Charles, Chifuyu appeared from nowhere, wielding an IS Katana, blocking Laura's attack.

"In...Instructor?" gasped Laura.

"It's fine to have mock battles." Chifuyu started. "But to the extent of destroying the barriers of the arena? You can finish this battle at the Division Tournament..."

Laura sighed. "As you wish..." Laura dematerialized her IS armor. Chifuyu brushed passed her.

"We will have a talk about using full-powers against IS pilots with STARIS Command..." growled Chifuyu to Laura. Laura rolled her eyes, and walked away.

Charles walked over to Ichika, along with Chifuyu. "You two fine?" asked Chifuyu.

"Yeah... I guess. I'm more considered with Cecilia and Rin though..." Medics from the IS Academy quickly hauled Rin and Cecilia away, with Charles and Ichika behind them.

After the group was sufficiently far enough, Chifuyu said. "Alright Midshipman, you're safe now."

Kenneth decloaked besides Chifuyu. "I should have intervened."

"If you did, you'd be pulling rank. She outranks you..."

"I know. I will be leaving tomorrow 0500 hours. Bait Ball mission."

Chifuyu looked surprised. "A Bait Ball? It hasn't been called since..."

"Your time as Don of Sharks Division. I'm aware. I will be going now, ma'am." Kenneth saluted and walked away.

* * *

><p><strong>April 17, 2021- 0458 Hours-IS Academy- Room 1044- Charles Dorm Room.<strong>

* * *

><p>Charles woke up to a ruffling sound outside her room. Quietly getting up, Charles opened her door very slightly, seeing Kenneth, in full military uniform, gathering his things. He was carrying a large backpack. Kenneth continued to the door, and left the room.<p>

Sensing that something was wrong, Charles quickly got her Smartphone and texted Cecilia, as she was the only closest to the their room. After the fight yesterday, Cecilia was sent back to her room, luckily only getting a broken arm.

CharCustomII: **Wake up Cecilia.**

The 1 and Only: **What the hell? It's like 5 o'clock in the morning...ZZZ**

CharCustomII: **I know, but Kenneth suddenly got all of his stuff and left. I think he's leaving the Academy.**

The 1 and Only: **Wait what? Ok, so where do you want to meet up and find him?**

CharCustomII: **Main hallway, he's probably going that way anyways.**

The 1 and Only: **Ok, meet up with you there.**

Charles got some light clothing on, and silently got opened the main door. To her surprise, Kenneth was going from hallway camera to hallway camera, pointing his left arm at it, and then walking away. He then turned around a corner.

Charles immediately followed, seeing Kenneth continue with the same activity. He wrapped around another corner, towards the main doors. Charles then spotted Cecilia's blonde hair creeping around a different corner.

As Kenneth continued towards the main hallway, Charles and Cecilia met up.

"What the heck is Kenny doing?" grunted Cecilia, also noticing Kenneth's behavior. After the fight against Laura, she was still in bandages.

_Oops, shouldn't have gotten her... _"I haven't clue... We'll talk with him before he reaches the main door." said Charles, as the two tailed behind Kenneth.

Kenneth walked around another corner; this one leading directly to the front entrance. Charles and Cecilia continued around the corner, only to find that Kenneth was gone.

"Huh? Where did he go?" said Cecilia.

A mysterious force shoved both Cecilia and Charles against the wall, pinning them. A figure started materializing behind them. It was Kenneth.

"What are you two doing?" he snarled. Both girls looked back at Kenneth. His eyes were an ice grey.

"I saw you gathering your stuff. Are you leaving?" grunted Charles, as Kenneth still pinned them.

"OW-OW-OW-OW!" whimpered Cecilia; her wounds have not yet healed.

Kenneth shook his head, releasing both of them, and continued to the front door. "Yes, and what if I am?" he said, opening the main door.

Charles and Cecilia rushed after him. "Wait! Where are you going?" asked Cecilia.

"My home."

"The United States?"

"No. The Battlefield." He continued to walk away.

"I thought you were an experiment by the US..." Charles and Cecilia said. Something was snagging at them in the back of their heads, like a mosquito buzzing around.

Kenneth turned around, stopping. "True. But I am a soldier. And have been recalled to my home. Now leave."

Cecilia and Charles looked at each other. The nagging feeling in the back of their heads became stronger.

"...Will you come back though?" they asked.

Kenneth looked at the sky. "Can't say. If I don't come back, the media will stay that I died of a heart attack. I am a soldier you two, and I will continue leaving until all wars end. Now..."

Kenneth raised his left arm, and a bright light emerged from it, blinding both girls. As the light disappeared, Kenneth was gone as well.

Cecilia and Charles were stunned. Sudden memories were restored in a torrent of emotion from Tuesday.

_"...the Hitokiri of STARIS... Kenneth Arthur Buyuu."_

_"...To spread my sorrow to the ones that created it... The Infinite Stratos."_

_"I'm a soldier, and I will fight until the day..."_

Images of the pictures that the Three STARIS members scrolled through Charles and Cecilia's mind. At first, both felt fear at Kenneth, he had slaughtered over a 100 IS pilots in the US alone. But as the memories slowed down, Charles and Cecilia saw that in every picture, he was constantly crying, tears rolling down his face for every IS pilot dead.

And finally, the last image of Kenneth cradling a young woman in his arms, screaming at the top of his lungs as a factory burned before him, surrounded by death.

Charles and Cecilia woke from their memory restoration on the grass, heavily gasping for air. They both looked each, and they both knew: they were drugged and had their memories removed, along with the rest of the class.

"Who... who was that woman?" asked Charles.

"Kenneth's love from a year ago... Angel or something like that..." sighed Cecilia.

"I can't believe it..." muttered Charles. The two sat silently on the grass for some time.

"Do you think we should tell the class?" asked Cecilia.

"NO!...no... If we do, then he might have to enforce that rule." mumbled Charles.

"So do we confront him after he comes back?"

"...Yes. Hopefully we'll be fine."

Charles and Cecilia got up and walk back into the Academy,


	11. Saturday Night's Alright

**Disclaimer: I do not know anything by IS: Infinite Stratos or any other mentioned characters/merchandise. They belong to their respected owners. However, original characters all belong to me, Grayjedi-Productions...**

**Sorry for the last update, but with college life and whatnot, it's been hard for me to continue.**

**I bet there are some people wondering how tall Kenneth is compared to the rest of the cast... To be honest, he would be as tall as the Houki or Cecilia. He really isn't that tall... That added to the fact that Scion Initiate armor being smaller than IS armor...**

**Also, the next few chapter will be primarily focused on Kenneth and STARIS, so just a warning for all... Also, slightly explicit content ahead.**

**READ, REVIEW AND ENJOY XD!**

* * *

><p><strong>April 23, 2022- IS Academy- Room 1-1- 0655 Hours<strong>

* * *

><p>A bunch of girls gathered near the door of Room 1-1. A follow-up announcement was on Kenneth's Saturday Morning Training.<p>

_Due to complications at home, I will be leaving the IS Academy for an unknown amount of time. _

_Therefore, all practices are cancelled for the time being_

_With Sincere Regret,_

_Kenneth Arthur Buyuu._

A few of the girls started talking amongst themselves.

"I wonder what happen..."

"I hope he solves whatever it is..."

"Oh hey! Charles. Did you see where Kenny went?"

Charles looked up about to walk into the room. "I only saw him leave. I haven't a clue where he went."

Most of the girls sighed, returning to their own conversations when Cecilia walked up to Charles.

"I don't think he would ever use his middle name." whispered Cecilia.

"You're right... Do you think he expects to come back?"

"Maybe, maybe not. I don't know." The two entered the classroom, seeing Ichika talking with Rin.

"I hope he does come back though." said Charles.

"Yeah..."

* * *

><p><strong>1015 Hours- Somewhere Over the Indian Ocean. (Kenneth's PoV)<strong>

* * *

><p>There are 467 IS cores in the world... No, that's not right. There is triple that number. Unlike nuclear weapons, creating IS cores can be discreet and below the radar.<p>

_We are reaching the drop off point._

With so many IS cores among humanity, there needs to be check on who gets what, and who will get officially announced. In the public hands, the Infinite Stratos would become the greatest threat to peace in the world.

_Ready to jump... 3...2...1...GO_

And that's where STARIS comes in. We serve as the balance in the world. If we didn't exist, then the IS masters of the world would be the Permanent Security Council Members, just like how it was with nuclear weapons: a permanent ban of these weapons except for those that already have them.

_Pop the chute...now._

However, that's not everyone's viewpoint with the Infinite Stratos. Phantom Task, a Terrorist Cell, decided that in order for the strong to dominate, they must subjugate the weak, those without IS mechs.

_You are landing on the HMS Illustrious... Good luck Midshipman. _

And that's why we fight. To perverse a peace that no-one will ever know about.

"Welcome back Mako." said Emily Smith, or Double H. "It's been awhile..."

* * *

><p><strong>0818 Hours- HMS Illustrious- Indian Ocean (Standard PoV)<strong>

* * *

><p>Kenneth followed Smith as the two continued further into the HMS Illustrious.<p>

"I'm amazed that the British Government hasn't reported that their carrier has gone missing..."

"We have a dummy in place... I wouldn't worry about it." As the two passed through the main hanger, multiple people of different nationalities were talking amongst themselves. However, as Kenneth and Smith walked by, they all started to whisper the words "Son of the Three".

"It seems that your reputation precedes you, Midshipman." said a voice behind Kenneth. Turning around, he saw Mélissa Armén.

"Admiral." said Kenneth, saluting Armén. Armén started laughing.

"Ah, Sharks Division rankings... Completely separate from normal ranking, huh?" Armén eventually returned the salute. "Good to have you back Lieutenant. You're dismissed, go find your friends and whatnot."

As the two head Sharks leave, Kenneth stood looking around for a familiar face when...

"Oi! Ken, over here!" waved over two Sharks members.

As Kenneth approached he saw his old friends of Sharks Division. Anthony "Bullhead" Rabin, and Natasha "Nurse" Fairs.

Anthony was a 25 year old member of STARIS, a member of Sharks Division longer than Kenneth, yet he was the same rank as him. As a member of Israel's STARIS group, The Sons of Abraham, he was one of the best trained soldiers that Israel could offer. During his initial days as codename "Mako", Kenneth always turned to Anthony for advice. He was like a big brother to him, teaching him proper protocol and specific details for different environments.

Natasha on the other hand served the big-sister role in Kenneth's life. As a fellow member of the Scion Initiates, Natasha had been the emotional support with life after training with the Three. At 23 years old, she is perhaps one of the greatest weapons that STARIS could have thrown at anyone. Which made perfect sense, as Natasha was called the "Daughter of the Three".

Over the years since the Special Tactics Against Rogue Infinite Stratos formed, the three highest pilots, only referred to as "The Three" trained many apprentices, all of them women. Their apprentices would become feared through the underground network of Infinite Stratos, codenamed "The Daughters of the Three." However, this changed when The Three decided to train a male pilot of STARIS, Kenneth Arthur Buyuu...

"Ah, my little brother returns." smiled Natasha.

"Good to see you back from your infinite sea of boobies at the IS Academy!" snickered Anthony.

Kenneth rolled his eyes, as he sat down with his comrades. "Bullhead... Nurse."

"It's 'Eagle' now." laughed Natasha.

"So they finally passed that extension of the Sharks Division, huh?" asked Anthony.

Natasha scoffed. "Of course. I **AM** 'The Daughter of the Three'."

The guys grunted. They knew the story. While there are many women in STARIS that are called "Daughter of the Three", the real title would go to Natasha Fairs or Tatenashi Sarashiki, theRepresentative of Russia and a member of Russia's STARIS group, GRU/AIS.

"So what's your company called then?" asked Kenneth.

"'Birds of Prey' Division." proudly said Natasha.

Kenneth and Anthony nodded approvingly. "Thought you guys might like it." said a smug Natasha.

"They are all just cannon fodder if you ask me, milady." said a voice that radiated from Natasha's right arm prosthetic. A hologram of a butler appeared to the side of Natasha.

"Ah, Albert. I was wondering where you were. Your tone is always so _uplifting_." sarcastically said Anthony.

"From someone as weak as you perhaps..." responded Albert.

Albert is an experimental project that the Scion Initiates had originally thought of. Using an advanced Artificial Intelligence integrated into the SI armor, the pilot could fire off multiple variables of evasion, attack and defensive capabilities. Out of the entire class, Natasha was the only successful one. However Albert the AI is _always_ a jerk to people, even if they are stronger than Natasha. Many people wanted to shut down Albert for his attitude, but Natasha refused to do so: Albert was too valuable.

"Hush, Albert. You are not needed now." spoke Natasha.

Albert looked at Kenneth. "Ah, the Son of the Three, eh? I do hope that we do get a battle soon enough. Perhaps on even terms, hmm?"

Kenneth gritted his teeth. Knowing that Natasha would be able to beat him in a straight up fight, Kenneth resorted to "scrappy" fighting styles.

Natasha slapped a button on her artificial arm, closing Albert. "Now that the annoyance is out of the way..."

Anthony cleared his throat. "Kenneth, I dropped off some flowers at Angel's grave for you."

Kenneth smiled. "Thank you Tony (Anthony). You know how much that means to me."

"I did so too. I know how close you were to her." added in Natasha.

"Thanks. Both of you."

"So are you over that mission yet or what?"

Kenneth furrowed his brows. "Just because I'm better doesn't mean that I'm over it. I still think that I should have died along side them."

Natasha rolls her eyes. "Yeah, but from what I've seen, you're kinda tough to kill."

"Haha, very funny Natz (Natasha)."

"In all seriousness Ken, why are you forcibly putting yourself into danger? It pains both of us, and especially the Three when you act reckless." said Anthony.

Kenneth looks stares at nothing for a second, then replies. "Ok both of you, what do I possibly have to live for?"

Kenneth's question surprised both Anthony and Natasha, but they didn't want to Kenneth to see their weakness.

"For the advancement and protection of humani..." started Natasha

"We do that on a daily basis." retorted Kenneth.

"Because it's our swore duty to..." said Anthony.

"Not buying it. Next." The three sat waiting for another response.

Anthony eventually threw his hands in the air. "Ok Kenneth you win, what do you possibly have to live for?"

A smile crept on Kenneth's face. "Exactly..."

"Huh?" questioned both of them.

"I have nothing left to live for! Zilch, nada, nothing! What good will it do if another soldier dies today or tomorrow? And since no-one will ever know, why do I matter in the grand scheme of things?" Kenneth gets up to leave.

"Don't be naive Kenny." warned Natasha. "You have Anthony and me to back you up for anything. Even the Three would be willing to..."

He shook his head. "We are all soldiers. It's STARIS right from the get-go. _Live today, for tomorrow we die_. Natz, we have lost some many soldiers from the previous years. What difference would it make if I was to die? There is no-one outside of STARIS that is willing to talk about anything I have to say because it's confidential. We have placed ourselves into a bottle where relationships can die in an instant."

Kenneth slumps back down, continuing to speak. "And this is price we pay for humanity. To forever be soldiers. And I have suffered the consequences for not realizing that."

Natasha looks at Kenneth worriedly. "Perhaps if you were to..."

"Explain myself? Ha, no-one's willing to listen, cause no wants to listen to the psychopath that killed enough IS pilots. No-ones wants to hear that story."

Anthony's voice remains stalwart to Kenneth's responses. "Ken, we are trying help. We know that your SI personality core drove you insane. That and Commodore Adean drove you to become a lethal weapon of STARIS after Operation Zulu... She's getting as much as blame as you are!"

"Yeah, and I'm the one that committed those crimes. I don't even understand why the Three saved me..."

"Because they saw something else inside you, not just the Hitokiri of STARIS." says Natasha. "A man, heart-broken and turned into a monster by IS tech."

"And that's why they are so upset about IS technology in the first place," continued Anthony. "Because some people just don't know how to cope with these things. It may have been 10 years since the IS came into the world, but scientists are still trying to unlocking all of its secrets... Secrets best kept as a secret."

Kenneth rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'm taking a nap, see you guys during debriefing."

* * *

><p><strong>March 6, 2021- 0800 Hours- Scion Initiates Barracks-Secret Base<strong>

* * *

><p>"Come'on Kenny! Get up! It's our off-day from training, and your birthday! Up, up, up!" said Angel, laying in bed.<p>

Kenneth rolled a few more sheets over his head. "It's 8 o'clock in the morning! I don't feel like doing anything yet. Just more sleep."

Angel playfully punched Kenneth in the ribs. "Aw. You're no fun."

Rubbing his eyes, Kenneth looked over at Angel. "You're naked." he said bluntly.

Angel's dirty blonde hair lightly flowed from her head covering up her breasts. The soft artificial lighting gently softening her white skin. A sly smile crept on her face.

"Only because you enjoyed last night." she cooed.

"Very funny, Angel." Kenneth grunted, finally getting up.

The two sat up in the barrack bed. Although it rather uncomfortable, both of them got used to it. Soldiers didn't have the luxury of a good soft bed. Angel rested her head on Kenneth's shoulder and sighed happily.

"Life will never be uninteresting for us huh? From running into hotspots of wars to fighting IS machines, we'll watch each other's backs for the rest of our lifes." she asked.

Kenneth smiled. "Yeah... You can say that."

A man barged into the room. It was Adam Strout, one of Kenneth's squad-mates. "HEY GUYS! I just wanted to see... OH MY GOD, COVER UP ANGEL!" he yelled, covering up his eyes.

A few cheers and whistles came from outside the room.

"Nice job Kenny!"

"Haha! Angel, you like the ride?"

"Nice job Kyo!"

Kenneth palmfaced at the word "Kyo." After the mentors and instructors had noticed Kenneth's and Angel's affection for each other, they started nicknaming them "Kyosuke and Excellen." Kyosuke for Kenneth because of his no-nonsense attitude towards missions. Excellen for Angel due to her bubbly-ness.

Adam slammed the door shut, giving the couple some privacy from rest of the Scion Initiates members.

Angel sighed while she was getting her clothing on. "You gotta admit that was funny, right?"

"I'll kill them... later." smirked Kenneth, getting his own clothing as well.

* * *

><p><strong>April 23, 2022- 1645 Hours- Shared Bunk Room<strong>

* * *

><p>Kenneth woke up from his memory dream. <em>A few weeks later, and Angel died in my arms...<em> he thought. _The Incident... I can't believe that it happened that fast..._

Kenneth opened the watch app on his synthetic arm. "Hn. Time for the debriefing."

As Kenneth got his STARIS uniform on, he realized that he was completely alone during his nap.

_As I said to Anthony and Natasha, soldiers to the very end._ As he exited the room, stood Anthony and Natasha leaning against a wall.

"Ready?" smiled Anthony.

"Let's go, Kenny!" said Natasha.

* * *

><p><strong>1900 Hours- Indian Ocean<strong>

* * *

><p>Kenneth and the rest of the Three waited underwater, just a few kilometers from the Phantom Task base. The mission was simple: Destroy the base, obtain any vital information on PT's agenda and rescue Shark Operative Zebra.<p>

However, it would not be Sharks Division leading the charge. Instead, it was Natasha Fair's debut with Birds of Prey Division. The Three gladly let Natasha do her thing.

_Wait until the music starts playing..._ self-reminded Kenneth.

A vibrating explosion shook the water surface.

_It's getting late, I haven't seen my date_

_So tell me when the boys get here!_

"All Sharks, surface now!" commanded Mélissa. Kenneth boosted out of the water.

As Kenneth breached the surface, he saw a spectacular display of weaponry and tactics on both side, as fighter planes and Rogue IS pilots continuously attacked the STARIS forces. But STARIS held their ground. Ground troops armed with Anti-IS/Shielding weapons, their aim was true at the enemy ISs.

_This is why the IS needs armor in the front and head sections. _Thought Kenneth, joining in the battle.

_It's seven o'clock and I wanna rock_

_Want to get a belly full of beer!_

"Yeah, of course the guys get to choice the battle music for this." mumbled a STARIS pilot over the radio communications. "Just deal with it." said another.

A red IS-like mech flew past Kenneth. Though it was bulky, the thing moved extremely fast and mobile. It closed in on an enemy tank, piecing the armor and fired several revolver shots into the tank, killing anyone inside.

"Haha!" yelled a familiar voice from the mech. It was Anthony's Patriarch. "This weapon just gets better and better! Love the upgrades!"

_Ooooohhhhhh...!_

_Don't give us none of your aggravation_

_We've had it with your discipline!_

_Saturday night's alright for fighting_

_Get a little action in!_

Kenneth grinned, his mission attitude settling in. "Alright... The Hitokiri returns." He charged into battle, body checking an unaware enemy IS pilot, as the music continued to play.

_P-p-p-Packed pretty tight in here tonight_

_I'm looking for a woman who'll see me right_

Kenneth materialized his dual short katana and hachiwara, piecing the shields and plunging into the IS pilot's unprotected chest.

_I drink a fifth of Jack and scream out_

_"She's with me!"_

Natasha and Tatenashi in their modified IS machines flew by. "Hey, Son of the Three, how about a combination attack?" yelled Tatenashi.

"Let's go!" Kenneth boosted into formation with other Daughters of the Three, forming a triangle.

"Target locked." said Natasha, pointing at an obnoxious IS pilot, wounding and killing several special forces.

_I'm a juvenile product of the working class_

_Whose best friend floats from the bottom of Gllllaaaaassssss!_

The three land in front of the IS pilot, created a shockwave that took her off her guard. Natasha fired a few beam cannons at her, followed by Tatenashi piecing her body with a manipulated-water lance, stabbing her in the chest. Kenneth charged right after, slashing off her head.

"Humph. Child's play!" celebrated Tatenashi.

"Another kill for the Eagle." remarked the AI Albert.

Kenneth motioned towards the rest of the battle. "Just a few more targets."

_Saturday, Saturday, Saturday_

_Saturday, Saturday, Saturday_

_Saturday, Saturday, Saturday night's all right...!_

The battle continued as the rest of the STARIS forces landed, the battle nearing the final stages of completion.

"Kenneth, you are needed. Come to these coordinates." said Sarah Campbell.

"Acknowledged." Kenneth said, flying over to where the rest of the Three were. A large underground bunker sat in front of the STARIS pilots. Kenneth softly landed in front of them with a salute.

"We got the battle out here secure. We are setting up a team to move into the bunker. Phantom Task is bound to have internal information and Codename 'Zebra' down there."

Kenneth nodded, and stepped towards the gates of the bunker. "Thank you ma'am, however the backup will be unnecessary. I will go alone."

Sarah and Emily Smith look at him with concern, but Mélissa Armén nods. "Very well. Good hunting Midshipman."

Kenneth sliced open the bunker doors and descended into the darkness.

"That was a bad idea for him without any backup..." remarked Emily.

"Let him redeem himself. We'll see if he survives. After a hour, send in the task group." said Mélissa.

With that, the Three returned to the battle in all their fury...

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry about the cliffhanger, but this will continue on a later day once my personal life settles down... <strong>

**Once again, Read REVIEW AND ENJOY XD!**


	12. Revelations

**Disclaimer: I do not know anything by IS: Infinite Stratos or any other mentioned characters/merchandise. They belong to their respected owners. However, original characters all belong to me, Grayjedi-Productions...**

**Sorry for the delay everybody, but with College and all, it has been a rough ride for me...**

**I had replayed Metal Gear Solid 3 and Peace Walker, and I just realized that I had made Kenneth Buyuu sometimes of expy of Solid Snake... However, that was unintentional as I made Kenneth to be more Jason Bourne and Heero Yuy-like... With my sarcastic views and tone...Either way, on with the fanfiction!**

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><p><strong>1909 Hours- Phantom Task Base, Hidden Bunker.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>(Main theme is Heaven's Divide from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker...)<strong>

* * *

><p>Kenneth continued down the bunker, watching his radar as nothing had appeared. The lights were dimmed for the people working in the base, to help them focus more without the harsh Island environment. <em>No hostiles? Easy work...<em> thought Kenneth.

The hallways were large enough for two patrolling ISs to float around, but with Scion Initiate Armor being only 2/3 the size of IS armor, the space was even bigger for him.

Swinging around the corner, Kenneth took out his modified Vent assault rifle with a pile bunker attachment. Still scanning the adjacent hallway, he reviewed the facts on the Sharks Division member, codename "Zebra".

_Zebra...Real name Erica Benoit,, member of Les Dirigeants d'Arc. Daughter of the Three. Trained many female pilots... including Angel Adrian. _

Kenneth continued following the natural hallway lines, with signs directing to the main core of the base. _At least Phantom Task labeled where things are this time._

As Kenneth rounded the corner, he found a pair of double doors, the words _Mainframe._Kenneth pushed open the doors, seeing that the room was completely blacked out. It much like a factory, pieces of Infinite Stratos mech parts scattered in different corners of the group, a ceiling hung well above the halls of the original facility of the Phantom Task base. A small light reflected in the far back, with the silhouette of woman in front of the light.

Kenneth readied his assault rifle, pointing at the figure. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"No one of great importance... As you recall."

She turned around, stepping out of the shadows, revealing heavily modified cybernetics around the left side of her face, most of her jaw cruelly replaced with a mouth guard. Strains of former brunette hair stretched from cleanly shaven scalp . A blacken arm stretched outwards her body, as a navy-blue heavily modified Raphael Revive IS manifested around the woman.

The lights in the room suddenly turned on, as the faceplate on Kenneth's SI armor quickly adjusts to the incoming light. He looks around the room, seeing that it mimicked the exact same layout of the factory during Operation Zulu.

"..."

The girl outstretched both arms in a welcoming fashion. "Welcome back to the place where it all began...Kenneth Buyuu." she cooed.

Kenneth fired three-shot bursts at her. The bullets were easily deflected as the shield's blue-ish glow activated.

"Replicating Operation Zulu." trailed Kenneth, his eyes keen on enemy contact. "You won't get the pleasure from me, PT pilot."

The female pilot slowly glided towards him. "_I_ don't plan to, but you certainly have the Phantom Task brass interested... The Hitokiri of STARIS, and the man that started the Incident... Don't you recall me? A fellow soldier of STARIS... Erica Dubois." she grinned

Kenneth gritted his teeth behind his helmet. _Damn... Converted one of ours eh? Maybe..._

"..."

Erica grinned. "It's rather sad actually... To see a fallen soldier like yourself back on the field... You allowed Angel to die if I do recall." she accused.

Kenneth boosted into the air, hovering just below the ceiling. He firing shots at Erica, saying "Shut it."

The heavily modified IS suddenly appeared right in front of Kenneth, slamming him into the ceiling as chunks of concrete fell. "Feisty... I like it." Erica grappled Kenneth, throwing him to the ground, as Kenneth narrowly avoided crashing with a quick booster ignition.

_Let's try to Anti-shield rounds._ thought Kenneth, as the Vent Assault rifle switched rounds. However, Erica brought a metal shield to her face, blocking any bullets from following through.

As Kenneth was reloading, Erica had materialized twin Garm shotguns. Closing in on Kenneth, she fired, heavily damaging Kenneth shields and nearly swooping at him again.

"It's rather sad actually..." mock-lamented Erica, continuing her assault. "To fall. It's such a quiet thing, but when you see yourself do it. The Son of the Three, the greatest shame that STARIS ever had. And yet, the Hitokiri of STARIS, an assassin to hunt down terrorist IS pilots."

_How the hell is she still talking while fighting? _Though Kenneth as he continued a hail of lead at Erica. _She won't get into my mind that easily..._

She used a quick Ignition Boost to behind Kenneth, taking out her a double barreled Garm shotgun, blasting one of Kenneth's stabilizer wings off as he crashed into the ground.

"I believe that your shields are now completely drained now, hmm? It's amazing to see that you have not become completely insane. The soldier that killed over a hundred IS pilots, half were to only be detained for capture, and you killed them. You were imprisoned in your own mind, your body a slave to the crude combination of your grief and your SI core."

Erica floated down towards Kenneth, blasting off the other wing of the SI armor, and taking a considerable chuck on the shoulder armor as well.

"What a pity..." she continued. "You truly are lost Kenny; There is nothing leave for you here, once Angel died. Barely anyone for you to tell your story to."

Kenneth tried to get back to his feet, as Erica slammed down on Kenneth, plowing him into the cement flooring. She pulled Kenneth closer to her face, as he saw lime-green infected skin from her cybernetic implants hastily put together. Moreso, several areas of her face were charred black by the cauterizing of skin melding with blood fluid wires connecting from her face to her chest.

Kenneth felt a warm liquid trickle down his face, quickly covering a majority of his face. "So..." he coughed, as blood also came out from his mouth. "You joined PT just for revenge of a student, didn't you?"

Erica shook her head. "I was under direct orders from STARIS to do this, to be captured... I wanted to test you myself, to see if you are truly worthy of the title 'Son of the Three'. As a soldier of STARIS, you should have known that it would not last... Either of you could have been slain the next day, leaving the survivor to suffer in despair."

Erica continued to glare at Kenneth, trying to evoke an emotional response. "You are lost Kenneth. Nothing to fight for or to live for. You said that yourself. I should end you right now..."

Whipping out a beam saber, Erica swung at Kenneth's left arm, lopping it off. Kenneth stared at his mechanical arm for a second, then collapsed to his knees, looking down.

"There is nothing left for you Kenneth." repeated Erica, crouching to Kenneth head level, attempting to crush the helmet he had.

"...Perhaps..." replied Kenneth. Erica looked puzzled at Kenneth. With a quick draw of Kenneth's short katana, he pierced her shields, as Kenneth's SI armor started glowing like fire.

"However my mission here... Is not complete yet." grunted Kenneth in monotone, cross slashing her across the chest, easily ripping the armor of the Raphael-Revive, and penetrating into her flesh, pushing her back.

"Trying to find 'redemption' in this world; It's not possible..." said Kenneth again, his SI armor completely emblazed with flames of the Phoenix Overdrive. "Sins of the past will forever leave scars... All one can do is leave a mark in the world... to anyone."

With a final slash at the neck, Erica fell as blood and strange green liquid erupted from her wound. Kenneth dematerialized his short katana, as the Phoenix Overdrive ability started taxing his body. The SI armor returned to its original black-sheen, as Kenneth slumped over, heavily panting and coughing up more blood.

"If my time had come, you would have killed me then. If you do see Angel on the other side... Tell her that..." Kenneth coughed, tearing up. Erica could only look in curiosity as Angel had once told her that he was always in control of his emotions. This breakdown was an unusual.

"... It's my fault. I know that I have nothing left in this world. I died a year ago with her... I will continue to live as a shell of man. I am ready to die at any time, including now... I'll make it count."

Kenneth stumbled over to the Phantom Task mainframe, still keeping his sense on the fallen Erica. Kenneth started to blur in colors. He materialized the special STARIS hacking package. Plugging the package in, he waited for the operation to complete.

"To live as a shadow... That's what STARIS strives for. We will never be known." unconsciously whispered Kenneth. If this statement was to himself or to Erica, Kenneth didn't know. A soft beeping noise came from the hacking package as the mini-machine had transferred the data files over to STARIS Command.

Kenneth stumbled back to Erica, seeing that she had died. He sighed, trying to catch another breathe. As Kenneth flipped over her body still encased in the IS armor, he was that she had her self-destruct sequence package online. Pressing in the code "Genesis" a 5-minute countdown began.

Kenneth started walk towards the exit, the SI armor's boots making echos around the room as Kenneth had used the walls to help balance himself. As he tried to hurry around the corner of the base, he thought to himself.

_Rescue of Operative "Zebra"... Complete; Data from Phantom Task Base uploaded to STARIS Command... Complete; Destruction of the PT Base..._

Kenneth collapsed to his knees again, seeing the exit of the base. He projected a holographic projection of the time. _Hn... Complete_

A muffled explosion rocked the bunker, as pieces of the ceiling started falling.

_Mission Accomplished_

* * *

><p><strong>1918 Hours- Outside Phantom Task Base<strong>

* * *

><p>Mélissa finished off another rogue IS pilot with a well placed bullet between the eyes.<p>

"I swear that every new generation of IS pilots are getting weaker and weaker..." mumbled Emily, taking a few pot shots at PT soldiers.

"Why fix what wasn't broken?" questioned Sarah.

Anthony approached the Three, saluting before saying anything.

"Yes? What is it Lieutenant Rabin?" said Mélissa.

"Phantom Task is in full retreat. Shall we pursuit?"

"Negative. Now we wait for Kenneth to return."

A low rumble shook the ground, as Natasha Fair's boosted towards the four STARIS soldiers.

"Double H, Double H! Kenneth's signal disappeared! And the bunker has collapsed."

Emily's eyes widened. "Send a search team, look through the rubble. Mako's in there somewhere..."

* * *

><p><strong>Time: Irrelevant, Location: Unknown.<strong>

* * *

><p>Kenneth awoke to find himself relaxing on a beach towel as the sun rested just above the horizon. Getting up, he looked around. The beach reflected a strange gold-like tint from sand. A city of white reflected the multicolor sunset. Looking to the right side, he saw a military aircraft runway, completely void of any activity.<p>

_Coronado Beach._ Thought Kenneth, finally relaxing. A young woman started walking towards him from the base, holding two bottles. Her dirty blonde hair kept in a ponytail, a little blue mini bikini covering her body, swaying her hips in fashion that only Kenneth would remember.

"Heh, Angel Victoria Adrian..." chuckled Kenneth.

She sat down next to him, a sad look in her eyes. "Why do you push yourself this far?" she whispered, handing him the bottle. A Fanta Orange soda.

"This is just how I am, and you know that Angel." grumbled Kenneth.

"I know that... But it simply isn't your time yet."

Kenneth traced his hair with his hands. "And yet I'm here..." he took a sip of the soda.

"Koibito... You need to live."

Kenneth turned towards Angel, puzzled. "Live?"

Angel inched her way closer to Kenneth's face, as the world faded to black.

_You must live..._

* * *

><p><strong>April 24, 2022- 0143 Hours- HMS Illustrious<strong>

* * *

><p><em>H...y... I...ink...he's <em>waking up!"

Kenneth slowly opened his eyes, a bright white light blurring his vision for a second. As the light intensity lowered, he saw himself in the medical wing of the HMS Illustrious. A white patient gown replaced his former STARIS military uniform, and his SI armor. Kenneth glanced down at his left arm, seeing that it was replicated with another synthetic arm.

"Welcome back, sleepy head." chuckled Natasha, placing a warm hand on his shoulder.

"You keep giving us heart attacks with your..." mumbled another voice behind her. It was Anthony.

Kenneth sighed again. "Was the mission a success?"

Anthony rolled his eyes at Kenneth's question. "You need to stop that... But yes, the PT base has been destroyed."

"Stop what, Tony?" asked Kenneth, ignoring the answer.

"Your mission oriented bullshit... You'll only destroy yourself in the end."

Kenneth's eyes shifted slightly gray. "What would another stati..." *SLAP!*

Natasha had left a red handprint on Kenneth's right cheek. Her synthetic arm packed a punch.

Kenneth rubbed the red-spot as Natasha spoke. "Enough Kenny, you are not a statistic! You can't keep pushing yourself like that! Just because we are disposable soldiers for STARIS does not mean that you won't be missed. Yes, redemption in this world is nearly impossible to get, but you still have us and the Three..."

Natasha lowered her head. "We don't want to see you destroy yourself, just like what happened during the Incident."

Anthony finally spoke up. "And not just because that was a political fiasco. It's because we have been your friends and mentors ever since you joined the Sharks... Please Kenneth, we are trying to find peace after Angel died as well. You don't need to burden that shame alone."

Kenneth's eyes settled back to its original brown color. "So what happens now then?"

Natasha scratched her head. "Yeah...About that...uhhhh... Your SI armor was totaled when the bunker collapsed... So I guess that..."

Kenneth face twitched for a second.

"...You'll have to use..."

_Goddamn it..._

"One of the Worker Class armors." Kenneth slammed his head back into the hospital pillow.

Despite the name, the Worker Class STARIS armors were roughly equivalent to the 3rd generation of Infinite Stratos. Knowing the usual case, Kenneth was probably outfitted with the armor already.

"How long was I out?" asked Kenneth, trying to get his mind off using the Worker Class armors.

"Like 6 hours or something..." said Anthony.

Natasha nodded. "You should be able to walk on your own, but we'll be dropping you back in the IS Academy in the early morning. Get some rest." She ruffled Kenneth's hair a little.

"You earned it."

* * *

><p><strong>0625 Hours- IS Academy- Room 1044<strong>

* * *

><p>Charles woke up, her mind thinking that Kenneth's alarm would wake her up again. Instead, all she heard was silence.<p>

_It's only been a day... Cecilia and I are becoming worried..._ she thought, laying in the bed.

_Our memories from Tuesday's fight are restored... We know that Kenneth was hurting during that time... A HUNDRED IS PILOTS?_ _But there are only 467 cores in the world!... Right? For every IS pilot he slain, those pictures... I saw tears. It looked like he was trapped in his own mind... _

A muffled sound came from the from of the main door, as rough shuffle of feet dragged on the carpeted floor. The voice of a man mumbled something, but Charles couldn't figure out what the words were.

A sudden dull thud hit the carpet, and Charles rushed out of her room to see Kenneth on the ground, his left synthetic arm wildly flashing a pale orange color.

"Oh my, Kenneth!"

Ichika slammed open his door, rubbing his eyes when he saw Charles trying to lug off Kenneth's body.

"Wh-What happened?"

"I don't know, but Kenneth's hurt, look at these injuries! Help me, Ichika. We gotta get him to the nurse!"

* * *

><p><strong>0730 Hours- IS Academy- Medical Wing<strong>

* * *

><p>Kenneth woke up again, this time in a patient bed at the IS Academy. Ichika, Charles, Houki, Cecilia and Rin stood around his bed.<p>

_Great, a welcoming party..._ Thought Kenneth. When Kenneth was dropped back at the Academy, he had just realized that the technicians that forgot to recharge the battery of the arm. As Kenneth hurried to his dorm room, the arm had run out of energy, leading him to have a small heart attack. Being awake now must have meant that the nurse had replaced the battery with a spare before anyone could notice.

"You alright?" asked Rin, raising an eyebrow.

"I'll be fine."

Houki nonchalantly pointed to Kenneth's multiple injuries on his arms and body. All from the battle against Erica Benoit.

"Ah yes. 'Cause those would be 'fine', right?" sarcastically said Houki.

"I did say that there was trouble at home..." chuckled Kenneth. Houki rolled her eyes.

"Well, glad that you're back Kenny." said Ichika. "We better get to the theory class at 8, right everybody?"

Rin and Houki nodded, as the three exited the room. Only Cecilia and Charles remained. Kenneth furrowed his brow in response.

"Aren't you two going as well?" Kenneth asked.

Cecilia rubbed one of her curled hair strains. "Listen Kenneth... We need to talk to you about something."

"Ok... What is it about?"

Charles rubbed her hands together in preparation. "Ok... Well...eerrr... When you left one Saturday morning... We kinda...yyeeaaahhhh..." Charles paused for a second, then blurred out, "Got-our-memories-back-from-Tuesday."

Kenneth's eyes dulled grey, as he glared at both of them. He closed his eyes, sighing. "Instructor, what are your orders?"

The two rose their eyebrows in confusion as Chifuyu Orimura stepped in the room, glaring hard at all three of them.

"There's nothing much that we can do... However, you must now guard against these two." Chifuyu responded.

"Wait! How the...? But you are...WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" exclaimed Cecilia. Charles looked slightly fearful of what might happen next.

Chifuyu sighed. "This is why I don't feel like deal with kids... And I'm only 28 years old..." she muttered under her breathe. "Kenneth, these two are also under your security detail. Since the experimental drug only works once, these two must never allow anything from STARIS to be released into the public."

Kenneth saluted at her. "Yes ma'am."

Chifuyu left the room, leaving the two girls and Kenneth alone.

"What does she mean 'Under your security detail'?" asked Charles, finally speaking up.

Kenneth laid his head on the pillows again. "You simply can't talk about Tuesday to anyone."

"You're not in the best position to give us orders." bluntly said Cecilia.

Kenneth sighed, closing his eyes. "I'm not, but the rest of STARIS is. They won't care about morality if you two spill the beans, but I've just the informer. You two do whatever you want."

Cecilia glared at Kenneth, before storming out of the room. Only Charles remained.

"You already told me alot of things about your past Kenny. I remember those pictures that those three pilots showed us. You were crying... A prisoner of your own mind."

"You have a good memory." remarked Kenneth. "And yes, that was true. Please Charles, I need some rest, get going to class."

Charles nodded and left the room. As she left the room, she pondered. _Every story has two sides, no? I wonder what his was..._

* * *

><p><strong>Once again, sorry for the wait... Yes I know how old Chifuyu is in canon, but for the need of an age bump for this Alternate Universe Infinite Stratos, I made her 28 years old.<strong>

**READ, REVIEW AND ENJOY!**


	13. Can't Say Anything Huh?

**Disclaimer: I do not know anything by IS: Infinite Stratos or any other mentioned characters/merchandise. They belong to their respected owners. However, original characters all belong to me, Grayjedi-Productions...**

**Once again, sorry for the hold up, but with work and whatnot, it has been pretty hard to finish up on things... But here you go!**

**Digitalfw33f: Kenneth is actually... Wait, it's shown in the chapter. Ah well. *Shrug***

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><p><strong>1305 Hours- April 25, 2022- IS Academy- Cafeteria<strong>

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><p><strong>(Main theme is Heaven's Divide from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker...)<strong>

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><p>"So when were you going to tell us about that robotic arm of your's Kenny?" asked Ichika, sitting down at the lunch table.<p>

"Well, to be honest, I really didn't want to tell... It has a bit of personal history with it." replied Kenneth.

It was only a few hours after Kenneth had returned from his mission on Saturday and word had already spread about Kenneth's left arm being completely cybernetic. As a result, swarms of girls had asked to touch, feel, play and ask questions about it.

"Well, we are all friends here, so tell us." Ichika said nonchalantly.

Kenneth thought for a moment. _What exactly should I include?_

"Well I guess I better start at the beginning. I am part of an elite strike team responsible for IS regulation for the entire world. After you became the first male IS pilot, the higher ups believed it was time to allow to send another representative to the Japanese IS Academy; that would be me."

"Huh." said Ichika, thinking aloud. Rin and Houki put their hands into the thinkers position.

"So you must know something about unmanned IS that attacked a month ago right?" concluded Houki.

Kenneth shook his head. "If I did, it would be classified. But no, I haven't a clue about that unmanned drone. It's still a mystery."

"So anyone could have sent it... But why would they unleash such new technology and not report it?" asked Rin.

"Can't say. With recent events like now... I really don't know what the world is coming to. Only 10 years ago, the Infinite Stratos armors were created, and since then technologies like holographic interfaces, railguns and even beam weapons started cropping up. All the things we initially believed were science fiction, became reality."

Charles remained silent, as did Cecilia. It was pretty understandable, especially since Kenneth had to watch over those two like a hawk stalking its prey.

"That still doesn't explain the arm though." said Ichika.

"Hn? Oh yeah, that. Well during one of my operations, I kinda busted up that arm. The doctors couldn't do anything about it so they cut it off and replaced it with this one."

"So that's how you are able to deploy your..."

A beeping sound came from Kenneth's arm, interrupting Ichika's question. Kenneth got up from his seat.

"Sorry everybody, but looks like I got a call. We can talk about this later right?" Kenneth eyed Charles and Cecilia as he left the cafeteria.

"Well I think I need to check up on something." said Charles. "I'll be right back."

Cecilia looked at her smart phone, seeing a text message sent.

**Buyuu9:** Hey, you're needed for this as well. Follow.

"Sorry everyone but I must be going as well." Ichika, Houki and Rin looked at Cecilia in concern.

"What for?"

"I have that... thing I-need-to-do-so-bye!" Cecilia took off from the table, leaving her tray.

"Well somebody here is gonna have to take her tray, right?" said Ichika. The girls give a glaring shot at Ichika.

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><p><strong>1312 Hours- IS Academy, Lower Basement Main Doors.<strong>

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><p>Kenneth and Charles stood at the entrance of the lower basement of the Academy. Kenneth continued his glazed over glare towards the hallway, to make sure that they weren't followed. Charles on the other hand, continued playing with her fingers.<p>

From the corner of Kenneth's eyes, he spotted out Cecilia making her way down.

"Ugh! Why we have to meet down in here in the basement is beyond me." she mumbled. Kenneth rolls his eyes, opening the doorway.

"After the both of you." he said. Cecilia and Charles stepped into the blackness of the basement.

"Now I can't see anything. Fantastic job Kenny." sarcastically remarked Cecilia. A light suddenly projected down from the ceiling, as Kenneth stepped into it.

"Identification please." said an electronic voice.

"Midshipman Kenneth Arthur Buyuu, son of Natalie Samantha Brown and Kenji David Buyuu. STARIS pilot of the Scion Initiates." With a few beeps and flashing lights, the electronic voice spoke again.

"Identity confirmed."

"Welcome back." said Mélissa, stepping out of the shadows.

"You're that pilot from Tuesday..." Charles remarked.

Mélissa nodded and smiled. "Correct. I am the leader of The Three, Mélissa Armén." Turning back to Kenneth, she said. "So these two are part of the security detail now huh?"

"Yes ma'am." replied Kenneth.

"And you take full responsibility of holding those two correct?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. I will report a situation normal back to STARIS Command."

Kenneth looked surprised. His jaw slacked abit, before he regained his composure. "A situation normal...?"

Mélissa nodded. "Yes. It's only two people, and they are your friends correct? Why should this bring much alarm?"

_I thought I would be facing a firing squad but... _Kenneth thought before saying, "Very well ma'am" Kenneth immediately snapped to a salute. Mélissa returned the salute.

"Very good Kenneth. Dismissed." At the end of her words, the doors leading outside opened again.

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><p><strong>2214 Hours- IS Academy- Room 1044- Balcony<strong>

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><p>Charles and Kenneth leaned over the balcony guard rail looking out towards the sea next to the IS Academy.<p>

"So... Do you want to talk about what happened back in the basement?" Charles started to ask.

"It's... a bit of personal history Charles. I'd rather not."

She frowned. "Not talking about it hurts everybody around you. Tell me what's on your mind."

Kenneth deeply sighed. _Well if I was to tell anybody..._ "Alright then. The pilots known as the Three are the greatest in the entire world, the hidden protectors of the IS world. Their skills go beyond anything. Orimura-Sensei had hand picked them as well."

Charles looked confused, tapping her chin with her index finger. A sudden revelation came to her mind as she snapped her fingers. "So that means that..."

"Yes. Chifuyu Orimura was once the Leader of the Three."

"With just using a melee weapon, there is simply no way that she can take down other IS pilots. She has to be exceptional good, if not the best!" Charles exclaimed.

Kenneth nodded and smiled a little. "Exactly, but her true strength is still a mystery."

The two were silent for awhile before Kenneth finally said. "Well yeah. Now you know most of my life. A weapon. A tool to be used until the next deterrent appears."

Charles looked harshly at Kenneth, frowning. "You are not a tool Kenny. You are a wondrous person. A bit of a hard-ass, yes, but your just another 18 year old man. You're starting to sound like how I did when I told you and Ichika about my father and his company..."

Kenneth outright denied Charles statement. "That's practically my life Charles, to follow orders. I am a soldier."

"You're far beyond just a soldier here Kenneth. Just another student here at the IS Academy. Like me." The two had another long pause before they said anything else.

"So how long will we be unable to speak of what happened?" Charles asked.

Kenneth started walking back to towards the glass doors of the main room. "Until you die. STARIS is beyond Black-Ops. We are the creeping shadows in the background of the IS world. Silent guardians never to be seen or heard. And when we die, nobody knows."

Charles looked down, her mood slight soured. "Oh, I see…"

Kenneth looked back at Charles and sighed. "You better get some rest. With exams and the Interclass tournament coming up soon… You and Ichika will need it."

Charles slowly nodded as Kenneth walked back inside. She looked at the stars for alittle while before heading back inside, thinking about their situations.

_He a determined man... As if he doesn't care about his life. How would the world not know of how he dies now though? He's technically 'The Second Male Infinite Stratos Pilot'. I just don't... Understand. And I bet Cecilia knows this too._

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><p><strong>And that's all for now. Next chapter is alittle more character development followed by the Interclass Tournament! ^_^<strong>


	14. Just Alittle Chitchat

**Disclaimer: I do not know anything by IS: Infinite Stratos and/or any fore-mentioned materials that belong to Third-Parties. They belong to their respected owners. However, original characters all belong to me, Grayjedi-Productions...**

**READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY! XD**

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><p><strong>May 8, 2022- IS Academy- Battlefields -1702 Hours<strong>

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><p>(Main theme is Heaven's Divide from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker)<p>

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><p>"That's it, that's everybody! Keep pushing!" Kenneth yelled, encouraging the rest of the forty students to continue their sprints.<p>

In the past few days of Kenneth's training sessions, several of the girls in the Uchigane IS armor were started to catch up with Personal IS holders. Getting rather "ant-y" about their privileges, they pushed themselves even further. Even though Kenneth was in the Working Class suits for STARIS, he still out-competed the Personal IS holders, but only by a small amount thanks to his training.

Stopping at the last sprint, Kenneth checked his timer on how fast the group was going. Everybody was under forty-five seconds. "And that's it for tonight ladies and gentleman. Get back to study for the exams."

The group of forty looked at each other. Some laughed as other walked over and hugged each other, high-fiving as well. Kenneth let out a small smile as his armor disappeared.

While the rest of the students walked/floated over to the storage area, the Personal IS users dematerialized their suits and walked over to Kenneth.

"So how about a nice little dinner before we hit the books again?" Rin suggested.

"That sounds good. Hopefully the cafeteria will be serving something good." Ichika smiled.

"I've… Got something else to think about guys. I'll catch up at the cafeteria later, alright?"

Ichika, Charles and the girls shrugged as they started walking back to their respected lockers rooms as Kenneth turned back to face the skies above. A mellow reddish hue, with dashes of dark purple, blue and orange. He sighed as he started to make his way to the blenchers on the sides of the battle.

_The dreams are becoming more vivid but… What exactly does it mean? A descending white angel, sandy beaches and calm waters. It can't be Coronado Beach… So where is this?_ Kenneth continued to scratch his hand about the location until he eventually gave up, standing back up.

_Soon, this curse upon my heart will be lifted. Hopefully, if the implantation of the synthetic arm went well._

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><p><strong>2023 Hours- IS Academy- Room 1044<strong>

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><p>The wispy sounds of pencil rubbing on paper were heard from Kenneth's room, followed by the tapping of plastic. Kenneth grunted slightly as he checked his answer with the books correct answer. Frowning he flung his pencil at a nearby wall before returning to his laptop and tapping away at some online game.<p>

Soft taps bounced from the door as Kenneth didn't bother to look over. "Who is it?" he said, still absorbed into his laptop.

"Just Charles… Do you mind? I mean if you're still studying…"

_As if … Fucking physics. _Kenneth mentally thought before saying. "Nope, come right in!"

Charles opened the door, her first time in Kenneth's room. A simple setup of his bed against the walls with the windows adjacent to them, and the provided desk for school work was close by as well. It was a very simple setup, fitting for Kenneth's military background.

Charles slowly approached Kenneth, seeing that he stopped midway through the practice problems. Her gaze then shifted to the game that he was playing. From what she saw, there was a stick-hand thing in a cube like world. A blocky looking cow walked infront of Kenneth's character.

"Uuuhh, Kenneth? What are you doing?"

"Playing Minecraft." Kenneth said, rather absentminded.

"What's a Minecraft?"

"Some game… It's kinda like Legos but more stuff to do and whatnot." Charles just stood there, unsure of what to say next. She decided to walk over to Kenneth's bed and sat down.

"Our match is coming up." Charles said, trying to spark a conversation as Kenneth closed the game at swerved back to Charles.

"Yeah, it is… I've seen you train with Ichika and all. I think you guys got some good chemistry."

"Why th-thank you!" Charles blushed slightly, with a shy look on her face. Kenneth just shook his head.

"To be honest, whoever you two go up against, you'll be fine. Just trust each other." Charles nodded in response as she asked. "So what's exactly the history between Orimura-sensei and The Three?"

Kenneth's eyes hardened as he got up and locked the door. Not turning back to Charles, he said. "You really wish to know huh?"

"If you can't talk about it-"

"No, no. It's fine, but I cannot allow Ichika to know." Charles nodded.

"Ok so it was…"

**Several years ago- Offshore STARIS base- 1422 Hours**

Mélissa Armén stood in the new test bed IS armor as she flexed the joints and gauntlets. The machine wasn't as chunkily as the First Generation models or the recent Second Generation models. Grey fins hung to the back of the machine as the gauntlets and legging were like a standard IS mech. Testing the mobility of the arms and leg, it felt like an extension of her body, unlike the other test bed models but was nothing compared to the Black Knight IS. Cracking her neck alittle, she took off to the skies feeling the wind pass by body.

"So how is the next gen armor?" asked a familiar voice. It was Chifuyu Orimura from the ground control. Wearing a STARIS jumpsuit, she gazed at Mélissa flying around.

"Things are going fine. It's amazing how Janus gets these things to be a generation better than the current IS."

Chifuyu chuckled slightly as she deployed her own IS, the Kurazakura, as she started to walk towards the middle of the testing grounds. Taking out the Yukihira Type 1, she slid her legs out into a kendo ready position.

"Alright then, Armén engage!"

"Mélissa Armén. Attacking!" She yelled, materializing an IS broadsword as the IS dive bombed at Chifuyu, as holding the Yukihira slightly up. As Mélissa vertically slashed at Chifuyu, it was blocked by the raised Yukihira as Mélissa boosted back, readying herself.

"Not bad... Not bad at all." Chifuyu commented.

"Thank you ma'am."

Just as the two were about to engage again, the alarms started blaring as both of them looked to the skies.

"Attention all STARIS Members! Phantom Task IS troopers are on approach to the base! All hands, prepare for Anti-IS procedures!"

Chifuyu looked over to Mélissa holding the Yukihira at her head level. "Do what you can with the prototype. If you can't, then fall back."

Mélissa smirked. "Some live ammo rounds then huh?" She scanned over a weapons screen for the prototype IS. _Attack drones? Like a funnel for Gundams? Strange but…_

"PT Troopers approaching in three… two… one…!"

Fifteen Phantom Task Troopers flew overhead in a standard V-formation. Armed with IS assault and battle rifles, they peppered the training grounds with concentrated fire at the prototype and Kurazakura ISs. The shields hissed and shinned as the bullets deflected off.

"Get ready…" Chifuyu growled as she lowered her stance. "GO!"

"Go, attack drones!" yelled Mélissa as four parts of the back wings of her IS broke off and fell towards the invading PT troopers. Zipping from side to side, Mélissa felt her body become slightly rigid as she controlled the attack drones follow and fire at the enemy troops. _Blast, I can't move while controlling these things…_

As the PT troopers fired at the incoming attack drones, one pilot's shield dropped and failed as their armor disappeared and she fell to the ground. STARIS support grounds deployed their own Worker Class mechs to retrieve the fallen troops.

"Gather back our forces! Don't let one of ours get captured!" yelled the leader PT trooper as she concentrated fire at the attack drones. The first one spurted and blew up from the fire as the rest flew back to Mélissa.

Just then three PT troopers armors were destroyed as their pilots fell to the ground. "Captain! It's the Leader of the Three!"

"What?!" The Kurazakura boosted and dashed in random directions, all towards different PT troopers as one of them boosted towards it with a CQC IS knife. With an upper-ward slash followed by a horizontal slash, the PT IS shattered, as the enemy fell to the ground.

Holding the Yukihira to the side, Chifuyu glared at the remaining troops.

"The hell are you people staring for?! Fire!" The PT troopers fired their rifles at Kurazakura, as one of the PT troopers materialized an IS rocket launcher and fired.

Front-flipping and boosting down, Chifuyu easily dodged the incoming attacks as she closed in on the rest of the PT troopers as she made a quick boost up, slashing from bottom up, as the one of the PT troopers IS dematerialized from heavy damage. With a horizontal slash to her left, another trooper started free falling.

Mélissa's combat drones flew about, taking down another trooper as the drones were running low on energy as they returned back to their spots on the wings. One of the troopers decided to close in on Mélissa yelped slightly, throwing her right arm at the incoming trooper as she was immobilized. A transparent bubble-like shield manifested from the gauntlet of her right hand, but like the combat drones before, she couldn't move.

_Seriously? What is this? I'm doomed if I can't move._ Taking her hand away, Mélissa materialized a short sword as she quickly took advantage of the disabled trooper, hacking off her arm gauntlets and wings as the IS sputtered and started to fall.

The PT trooper growled, sending off a whistle.

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><p><strong>Present Day<strong>

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><p>Charles looked rather surprised as Kenneth suddenly ended the tale. "So? What happened?"<p>

Kenneth looked to the side. "Well… The enemy eventually retreated but few times during the rest of that battle, Chifuyu realized that she needed a successor. So she eventually choose Mélissa."

Charlotte nodded. "I see. What about your own stories?"

"There really isn't much for me to tell actually. Besides training and the videos you saw of my… berserking, that's really it."

Charlotte looked at the clock, seeing that it was already eleven pm. "Oh my, I'm sorry. Good luck tomorrow for our exams."

Kenneth gave a small smile and chuckled. "Thanks. You too Char."

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><p><strong>Sorry about the delay guys, but College has been a killer. I hoped to get more out but I just couldn't I apologize for that. Thank you though for your reviews and whatnot.<strong>

**Read, Review and Respond. Thank you once more.**


	15. Find Out My Mind Or The Tournament Clash

**Disclaimer: I do not know anything by IS: Infinite Stratos and/or any fore-mentioned materials that belong to Third-Parties. They belong to their respected owners. However, original characters all belong to me, Grayjedi-Productions...**

**So technically since there was no IS uprising on December 12, 2012 this fanfiction has become a proper alternative reality. WOOT.**

**Also, I am changed Charles (Charlotte's) "Bread Slicer" knife for an IS grade CQC knife. Because it sound better in my opinion.**

**READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY! XD**

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><p><strong>1417 Hours - May 13, 2022 – IS Battlefields – Entrance Area<strong>

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><p>(Main theme is Heaven's Divide from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker)<p>

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><p>Ichika and Company had arrived at the gates as Cecilia, and Rin had taken off to find their respected seats. Kenneth was already in his seat, watching the matches ahead of time. Seeing that he helped the group of forty students train, he decided to see how much they have improved. By the tournament stand point, unless the teams had divided were in Kenneth's training, the forty students have excelled greatly. Even if the teams were both in Kenneth's training class, they had very close matches. Whispers had grown among the Freshman that if Kenneth had made another training class, they would immediately join in; not just because Kenneth was one of the only guys in the IS Academy but because he really did help the students.<p>

However Ichika, Houki, and Charles looked up on today's match up sheet. Looking at the board, Ichika found his name up with Charles and their opponents would be…

Houki gazed hard into screen as she saw her name as the opponents along with Laura Bodewig. Ichika and Charles looked at Houki nervously as Ichika gulped and said "G-Good luck there Houki. Uuh, Charles. L-let's get going."

Charles nodded as the two started to head off to the boys locker room as Houki saw in the corner of her eyes Laura looking at the screen as well, her face unreadable. She walked over to her as Laura looked over bored. "Just don't get in my way." She said bluntly, taking off towards the girl's locker room.

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><p><strong>IS Battlefields – Locker Rooms<strong>

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><p>Charles had finished putting on her IS jump suit as she spotted Ichika looking over the list of VIPs that were watching over the tournament. William Burton, Michael Scott, Dominique Batallie. The list continued scrolling as Ichika finished pulling on his jumpsuit.<p>

"You seem a bit on edge with our match up with Laura… And Houki." Charles pointed out.

Ichika turned back around to Charles as he gave a small chuckle. "Yeah… I didn't expect it would lead up to something like this."

"Just try not to get your emotions too involved ok? Out of the entire Freshman Class, Laura would rank up there with being the strongest."

Ichika gave a nod in response as he started to make his way with Charles to the entrance to the launching pads of the IS stadium.

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><p><strong>1420 Hours - IS Battlefields – Stadium, Stands<strong>

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><p>Kenneth gave a polite wave as Rin and Cecilia took their seats next to him.<p>

"So what do you think about this upcoming match?" Rin asked.

"In a straight one v one match, Laura would clearly win. Her IS was made like a tank. Hell, she'll probably win against me in a straight up fight."

Cecilia had a small frown at Kenneth's comment, not expecting to hear that from him.

"But while Laura makes up with firepower, she lacks in improvisation. Everything is analyzed and clear cut for her. It really doesn't work like that, especially in two v two situations."

"So Ichika and Charles, if they work together…"

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><p><strong>Simultaneously in the Battlefields…<strong>

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><p>Ichika and Charles stood at the ready as Laura and Houki did the same, all four of them glaring at them. A prism countdown clock started as Laura muttered into the open channels.<p>

"So, for my first match… To deal with you."

"That's right." Ichika returned. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

As the clock hit zero, Ichika blasted from the started line, sword ready as Laura activated her AIC (Active Inertia Canceller), halting Ichika just before his jab could touch Laura's armor.

"A preemptive attack. Too easy to read." Laura scoffed.

"I'm glad that we understand one another". Ichika grinned, as Laura deactivated the AIC and backboosted away from Ichika, curving in large figure eights.

"You aren't getting away that easily!" Charles yelled, switching to two Garm sub machine guns as she boosted into the air, and started raining down bullets.

With a sudden metallic scrapping noise, Charles rolled into the ground but quickly got herself back up. In the air where Charles once hovered was Houki, holding an IS katana in a usual kendo stance.

"You better not have forgotten about me." Houki growled.

_Damn… With Kenneth's training on the E-Jump… _Charles thought, readying her Garm guns again. Backing away, Ichika then charged at Houki, swinging horizontally as Houki blocked as the two entered a blade lock. Houki looked up as Charles switched to twin "Rain of Saturday" heavy shotguns.

Just as Charles fired, Houki was pulled back by a purple rope wrapped around her and was flung at Charles as they narrowly avoided a collision. Houki was able to pull herself back up quickly.

Ichika glared back over, Laura was already within slashing range of him with two beam saber gauntlets as she slashed at Ichika, damaging his shields, but quickly recovered and started slashing back. Blow after blow, Laura continued to hound down on Ichika as steadily his shields dropped.

Sensing danger, Charles started to boost over to Ichika's side for back up as Houki E-Jumped behind Charles and slashed her in the back, taking heavy shield damage. Spin boosting back up, Charles glared at Houki.

"Two one on one battles." Charles muttered. This wasn't exactly as planned, but at least they could match it.

Switching one shotgun for a Vent Assault Rifle, Charles continued to backpetal towards Ichika as she yelled "Switch!"

Ichika backboosted away from Laura and engaged Houki, catching her off guard as Ichika hacked a large majority of Houki's shields down. Quickly recovering, Houki slashed back at Ichika as the two entered blade lock.

"I have re-taught Kendo to you… But I'm still the Champ!" Houki growled as Ichika knew exactly what it meant.

Laura glared and boosted towards Ichika as Charles fired a near point blank shot at Laura, pushing her back.

"Annoyance… Out of my way!" Laura yelled, as she deployed her wire daggers, bashing Charles back alittle. The two started to fly about the air, exchanging beam saber for CQC knife as their ISs created a strange waltz with one another.

"Charles! Switch!" As Ichika and Charles switched opponents again, Laura easily saw the ploy as she quickly engaged Ichika with a quick jab as Ichika deflected it and slashed down.

Houki lost her forward momentum for a second as Charles quickly capitalized on it, firing quick three-round bursts from her assault rifle as Houki's IS hissed and popped at the venting systems, as she backed off. Checking her shield strength, there was only 10 points left. Gripping her katana once more, Houki initialed another E-Jump as she horizontally slashed at Charles.

… Only to have Charles read it, blocking the attack with her CQC knife as she took Houki's head with her other arm and slammed Houki to the ground as the crowds cheered for the impressive display.

Houki checked her shields once more. Depleted. Zero. _Is this… As far as I go?_ She thought.

Meanwhile Ichika had a difficult time keeping Laura at bay as she kept switching her tactics from a close range battle to far bombardment as the two continued to boost around the arena. Charles opened fire at Laura she backed off and reset to see what had happened.

_Hmm, the girl is down. That wasn't surprising_. Laura analyzed the battlefield.

"I'm here Ichika." Charles said, keeping her eye on Laura.

"Where's Houki?"

Charles gave a small motion to Houki as her armor was able to at least get back up to a kneeling position. "She's taking a little break for the moment."

Ichika gave a small nod back to Charles as he had alittle grin.

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><p><strong>Meanwhile, in the stands<strong>

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><p>"So what exactly is this flaw for the AIC?" Rin asked.<p>

"Well besides lasers and most forms of energy weapons, the AIC can only focus on one enemy at a time." Kenneth started.

"So wait! If Ichika and Charles…" Cecilia started as Kenneth nodded.

"Yup. Laura is less or more finished. Her IS capitalizes on one on one combat and enemies that aren't working in unison. Kind of what happened when you two were fighting her."

Cecilia and Rin bopped Kenneth on the head for the insult.

* * *

><p>Ichika charged in as Laura activated her AIC. <em>At this range<em>. She thought, charging her railgun.

Just at the last moment, Laura's shields hissed and the force from a close range IS shotgun pushed her back, but still on her feet.

Growling, Laura boosted into the air as she fired out her wire daggers in random directions as Charles and Ichika blocked and flung away the daggers. Ichika continued to charge at Laura, Yukihira in mid-swing. Laura again evaded or blocked with her AIC as Charles would fire her twin Garm sub machine guns at close range, crippling her shields bit by bit.

The crowd's cheers roared around the stadium as the three combatants continued to fight and boost around. Laura checked her shields again as she boosted directly up, getting away from the pair. It was running low as Ichika Ignition Boosted directly infront of Laura as his armor started to glow golden.

"This is it!" Ichika yelled as he swung down. Laura only looked in horror as Ichika's Yukihira deactivated its energy blade. Laura grinned as she delivered a heavy punch to Ichika's face as he was thrown further into the air.

"Losing your energy already heh?" She mocked as she boosted at Ichika only to see Charles suddenly appear infront of Laura as Charles fired at her.

"What the… Ignition Boost?!" Laura screamed, as she tried blocking the bullet hail with her hands. Panicking, she attempted to activate her AIC as Charles boosted directly infront of her, throwing her left shield to the side as it dematerialized. Underneath the shield was…

"It may be outdated, but it has power! Grey Scale… GO!" Charles yelled as she slammed the piledriver's spike into Laura as it was blocked by with a combination of her leftover shields and Absolute Defense. The weapon pumped as Laura was sent hurdling down to the stadium ground as her impact broke the ground making a crater as the crowd became silent for a second only to roaring again.

"Wow… We did it." Ichika breathed out, seeing that his shields were incredible low. "Charles. Finish her off!"

"On it Ichika!" Charles boosted down at Laura, Grey Scale ready as she pounded her into the crater again, as the Grey Scale easily started to strip the shields away.

_No… I can't… I can't.. Lose… Not here…_

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><p><strong>Laura's Point of View, Undisclosed Location – Time: Irreverent<strong>

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><p><em>Genetically-enhanced test subject number C0037. <em>A man with a deep voice said. I continued to look at the ground, making sure that I wasn't showing any disobedience. _Your new identity is… Laura Bodewig. _

Memories flash back to my training, whether it was sniping from a distance, CQB training with men much older than me. I was born just to fight. I was… superior. The apex for Super Soldiers.

Then… the Infinite Stratos was revealed to the world, changing the idea of deterrence forever. I am part of the Anti IS group Schwarzer Hase, a subsection of the Special Tactics Against Rogue Infinite Stratos. We are surrounded by secrecy. Our group just became known as a special unit for ISs.

As the world changed, I couldn't. Not as fast. I was implanted with nanomachines to help increase performance. But my body couldn't handle the rapid change done and I was tucked away and deemed as a failure. I was nearly kicked out of STARIS and Schwarzer Hase, my condition worsening as the times continued.

But then, I met her. Orimura Chifuyu, the former Leader of the Three. Her training was difficult, and at times I wished I was dead. But I pressed on; I kept moving forward and in the end… I was the strongest once more.

_What makes you strong Instructor? _I asked one day.

_I have a younger brother. _Was all she said. I was stunned; bewildered by the fact that someone like her would show this face… This "kind" face that I had never seen during our training. She was strong, fair and resolute.

That is why… I cannot forgive a man like this. Orimura Ichika. Her one weakness in this world.

But he is not my only target. The man that had nearly destroyed the shroud STARIS had. Kenneth Arthur Buyuu of the SI. What makes him so special? Why didn't I become a Daughter of the Three? Why did my body reject the nanomachines? What makes him… Different from the rest of us STARIS pilots? I want to know… I claw to know…

_**Do you wish for power?**_

_I do. _

_**Does that feeling of completing your mission push you further beyond human limits?**_

_Yes_

_**Do you have… The Spirit of a Soldier?**_

_I do. _

_**Valkyrie System Standby… Booting and Loading… Executing**_

* * *

><p><strong>1430 Hours – IS Battlefields<strong>

* * *

><p>Laura suddenly screamed as her IS repulsed Charles back with her Grey Scale. A strange blue light surrounded her as continued to scream in pain. Her IS started to contort, as it dissolved into some black glop, engulfing her within.<p>

"What?" Charles and Ichika said in unison as the student body in the stances started to get up in fear, trying to leave the stadium. Kenneth's eyes opened as he gritted his teeth. _Damnit… What is this? Something by the Schwarzer Hase? _His eyes turned grey as he scanned the black blob that once was Laura's IS. Nothing came up. Getting up, he helped the students leave the stadium seats.

Chifuyu and Maya looked from the camera views in the stadium. With a frown, Chifuyu said. "This is a Code D. Lock down the stadium's VIP session and student seats."

"R-Roger that."

Just as the black blob started forming humanoid shapes, an announcement cut through the panic.

"This is a Code D. Teacher troops are on the way." Metal shuttered started to close around the stadium, leaving Ichika, Charles and Houki still on the field. Houki had deactivated her systems and stepped out of the machine.

The blob then formed a head, and a new armor. It looked like a regular IS, but in its right hand was…

"Yukihira Type 1? What the…" Ichika said, mouth slightly open. He lowered his head, snarling slightly at the sight of an imposter. He lowered himself to a kendo as the mutant IS charged in, shoving Charles out of the way and slashed Ichika's Yukihira Type 2 away.

With bulging eyes, Ichika raised his IS gauntlets to block a vertical slash as it cut through, breaking and cutting through the armor, as Ichika tumbled back as his IS dematerialized.

Just then, several teacher IS machines started to descend on mutant as it boosted around, slashing and kicking away at its attackers. Several of the teachers were luck enough to dodge its attacks while other's IS machines dematerialized from one hit of its blade. Several more teacher ISs flew into the stadium, collecting the fallen teachers. Eventually, the mutant stopped and looked over at Ichika, watching his next move. Teacher ISs raised their rifles at it, just for sudden movements.

Growling, Ichika roared as he went in, charging at the mutant as Houki gripped Ichika's wound as he groaned and fell to his knees.

"Let me at 'em!" Ichika yelled in rage.

"What the hell are you thinking you moron?!" Houki fired back, "Do you want to die?"

"It's making fun of me! Let me go!" Ichika continued to struggle as Houki slapped him across the face as he fell on all fours.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean!?"

"It's using the same technique as Chifuyu! Her piloting and skills! All of that, copied by an imposter!"

Houki shook her head and said. "What can you possibly do now? Look at it!"

Ichika looked around, several of the teachers had fallen as others were surrounding it as the mutant continued to look at Ichika.

"It has its full attention on me Houki. I need to- No, I _want_ to show that Chifuyu's abilities can't be copied like a machine."

"Byakushiki has no energy left! You may want to fight it, but with what!"

Charles calmly walked over to the two as she said. "Well if it's a problem with energy, I can help with that."

Charles removed her hand from the IS armor gauntlet as she pulled a cord from the backside of her IS. A screen appeared infront of her eyes as it read "Vipus revival cord removed. Standby."

She walked over to Ichika and plugged it in the bracelet/gauntlet on Ichika's hand. "Approving energy transfer."

Ichika had a small smile on his face as energy started to flow back. "Thanks Charles."

Charles made a hand pistol and aimed it at Ichika, cocking it back as if she fired it. "Promise me this. Don't lose, alright?"

"Of course. A man won't lose like this." Ichika replied as Houki had a small smirk at his comment.

"Well if you do lose, better start wearing a girl's uniform to school ok?"

Ichika looked flustered as Houki had a light chuckle from Charles' end of the promise.

"G-Got it." Ichika said as Charles' IS dematerialized.

Turning to the mutant IS, Ichika rematerialized Bykushiki in monopole mode, as only his right gauntlet manifested along with Yukihira as the blade opened, releasing its energy blade setting.

The mutant IS took no time as it dashed and swung at Ichika has he deflected the attack, stumbling back. Getting a grip on the ground again, he yelled and slashed at its body, cutting at the membrane of the black glob. With an electric crackle and pop, the wound opened up as Laura's unconscious body started to fall out as the black glob started to dissemble its humanoid IS form. She opened her eyes, as her eyepatch slipped away from her face seeing Ichika before falling unconscious only more.

In the hanger's launching pad, watching Kenneth, his arms folded as he nodded and walk away from the scene.

* * *

><p><strong>1936 Hours – Medical Wing<strong>

* * *

><p>Laura woke up, groaning as her vision started to come back to focus. "Wh… What happened?" she blindly asked in the air.<p>

Chifuyu was by her bedside, looking down at her. "After I talk to you about something important, this incident that we had is confidential. By the school's ruling and by STARIS."

Laura just listened on. "The Valkyrie Trance System, VTS. It's what the Schwarzer Hase was studying wasn't it?"

Laura gave a hesitant nod. "It may be outlawed but… What the Schwarzer Hase does is…"

Chifuyu shook her head. "I want no information about it. What the Schwarzer Hase does on its own IS pilots are strictly their own business."

Laura turned away, lowering her head. "Damage calculation, mental condition and above all, the will of the pilot… You wanted to assess it didn't you?"

With Laura's silence, Chifuyu then said. "Laura Bodewig… Who exactly are you?"

Turning to Chifuyu, Laura looked confused, not understanding the question. "Who… am I?"

"If you are nobody in particular, then you simply are you. Laura Bodewig, a member of Schwarzer Hase." Chifuyu got up and started to walk away as Laura continued to look confused.

"And… You can't become me." She stepped out of sight as some other footsteps were heard and it was…

"You." Laura looked surprised to see Kenneth. A small urge inside of Laura gripped her stomach with hate.

"Yes it's me." Kenneth said, scratching his head. Leaning against the walls, he asked. "Sooo… VTS huh? That's what the Germans are doing?"

Laura frowned and said. "American… Learn your-"

Kenneth waved his hand and said. "Just listen for a second. I didn't come here for a fight. I'm just… happy to see you alive without guns pointed at your head."

Laura looked puzzled as Kenneth continued. "If it wasn't for Ichika… We would have had another Incident. Much like myself." Laura's eyes widened with the news.

"I'm just… glad that it didn't happen anywhere else." He shrugged, seemingly unsure of how to express himself.

"What are you trying to get at, Midshipmen?"

He sighed as he started to walk away. "Be thankful that Ichika saved you before took a step into the darkness. Unlike me, you have a chance to get free from any of this breaking out to the world. You own him one… And I'm happy to see that you're still you, Second Lieutenant." He stepped out of view as Laura looked at the ceiling, rethinking what happened.

_What made Ichika strong… Was his desire to _protect.

* * *

><p><strong>2015 Hours – IS Cafeteria<strong>

* * *

><p>Charles, Ichika and Kenneth were eating some ramen as they discussed about the tournament.<p>

"So in the end, the tournament was cancelled." Charles said inbetween bites.

"Hmmm." Ichika asked.

"It's a shame really; I was hoping to see how far the students would go." Kenneth lamented.

The three heard some ruffling noises as they turned their attention to five students looking rather sad.

"The chance for complete victory… Gone."

"Acquaintance didn't help either."

"And we just figured out what to do with Charles as well." The five of them started crying and left in a hurry.

"What… Was that all about?" Ichika asked. Charles and Kenneth shrugged. To the side was Houki, looking kind of nervous playing with her thumbs.

Ichika got up and said, "Houki. What's up?"

"Oh, nothing." She replied, looking away with a blush. Kenneth and Charles smirked a little.

"So about that promise… It's a date." With lit eyes, Houki grabbed Ichika's hands and brought them just below her head.

"Really? Are you serious?!" she asked, blushing more.

"Ow… that hurt." Ichika winced as Houki loosened her grip. "Well… Yeah."

Regaining her 'cool' composure, Houki let go of Ichika's hands and said. "Why? Is there a reason?"

"Well a friend asked to, so yeah, I'll go."

"I see!"

"Yeah, just shopping and-" Ichika stopped talking as Houki abruptly punched him in the gut, knocking some air out of him.

"I knew it! It would be something like that!" She said angrily and kicked Ichika in the crouch. With a 'hmph!' she walked away.

Charles and Kenneth walked over to Ichika as he cupped his nether regions, a tears falling from his face.

"You know, I think you are doing that on purpose sometimes." Charles chimed in.

Kenneth was about to say something as Ichika threw up some of his ramen. "Oh crap, this is bad. Charles, help me pick up Ichika. We are going to the medical wing"

* * *

><p><strong>2021 Hours – IS Medical Wing<strong>

* * *

><p>Ichika placed an ice bag on his crouch as he sighed relief. Charles and Kenneth stood up, scratching their heads.<p>

"That… Really hurt." Ichika groaned out, wiping some of the ramen residue on his face.

"You'll feel better in the morning Ichika. Remember we still have theory class and studying for exams." Kenneth said, as Ichika groaned again.

"Don't remind me…" he said, falling onto the bed he was given.

With a knock on the door, Maya Yamada stepped into the room and saw all three of them. Looking at Ichika, she gasped.

"Oh my, what happened?"

"Ichika did something and now his… well, it hurts." Kenneth said, as Ichika gave him a glare.

"I'm sorry to hear that Ichika, so please get better soon! Also, I have an announcement! The boy's public bath has opened!"

The three of them looked at each other as Ichika said. "You two go on without me… I think I'll be here for awhile."

* * *

><p><strong>2040 Hours- IS Academy Boy's Public Bath<strong>

* * *

><p>Kenneth sat in the hot water, relaxing as he checked the sensors on his artificial arm. It was water proof so it wouldn't be too much of a hassle if it got wet.<p>

"I… I'm coming in!" said Charles as she stepped into view, Kenneth instinctively turned to Charles seeing her naked besides a bath towel she said. Eyes bulging out slightly, he turned away. The first time he looked at Charles was when he and Ichika learned of Charles being a girl. It didn't bug him as the SI trainees trained without much of a care, and he had his little poking fun out of Ichika. But now…

"Kenneth, you're acting strange."

"Oh, I am? I uuhhhh… Yeah, I guess I am." Kenneth said, still looking the other way as he shifted himself to the center of the bath. Charles tilted her head at Kenneth's change in character as she sat back-to-back with him.

"Sooo… I made a decision." Charles said.

"A decision?"

"About staying here. In the IS Academy."

"Ohh… I see." Kenneth said. It has been some time since he last thought about Charles situation with her father and the Dunois Corporation.

"If you are… staying here, not just because of your mission, but because you do want to be here… Then I'll stay here as well."

Kenneth pondered over what Charles had said. Despite his mission, he was getting used to having this separate live abroad from the Scion Initiates Base. Teaching was a bit the same, but the training he would also get from Protocol Waltz. It had a nice change of pace. He wasn't just a soldier for STARIS, but just another student. But he knew that it didn't really change the matter for what he was here for. Safety guarding Ichika's IS in case of terrorist activity.

But then there was Charles herself. Over the course of her time here, Kenneth has been feeling more at ease. Things were getting better for him emotionally. But his duty would have to come first… Wouldn't it? What would…?

"Kenneth? Did you hear me?"

"I uuhhh… Yes I did!" Kenneth said, his thought train broken.

"So what have you decided?" She said, turning to his back as she held her hands next to Kenneth's own.

"I… Do just want to be here. But there will be-"

"Shh. I know. There will be times that you'll have to go back for something or other. But so long as you keep that promise. I understand." Charles placed her hands on Kenneth's back as she laid her head on the back of Kenneth's head.

"Thank you." Kenneth said as he looked down at the water, thinking still.

"I think… I can give you another secret of mine."

"Hmm?"

"Could you call me 'Charlotte' from now on? Even if it's only when we are alone…"

"That's your real name isn't it?"

"Yes, the one that my mother gave me."

"Ok then… Charlotte."

* * *

><p><strong>0728 Hours - May 14, 2022 – IS Academy – Class One Room<strong>

* * *

><p>"Today class we are having another student joining us!" Maya said as the class turned and saw<p>

"I'm Charlotte Dunois. Pleased to meet you all again!"

"Uuuhhh yeah… Charles Dunois was actually Charlotte Dunois. Oops." Maya said, tilting her glasses down with embarrassment.

The class had uproar as the girls started talking with one another in rapid fire questions.

"So Dunois was really a girl?"

"I knew she was strange!"

"Instead of a pretty boy, she was a pretty girl!"

"Hey didn't the boy's public bath open yesterday?"

"Yeah that's right! So then all three of them…"

Ichika heard the last comment as he and Kenneth stood up from their seats and said. "That's not completely-"

With a bang and crumbling walls, Rin stepped into the room with her IS armor on. "Oh my! Please, no ISs in the classroom!" Maya yelled as Rin looked over at Ichika, a look of disgust on her face.

"ICHIKA!" She yelled, charging her dragon cannons. Ichika wildly waved his hands in the air.

"No, no, no, no! This isn't what you think! I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm DEAD!" He pleaded as Rin fired. Only to be blocked by Laura activating her IS and blocking the shot with her AIC.

"Holy crap, I'm not dead!" Ichika thanked Laura as she turned and face Ichika. "Thank you so mu-"

Ichika's words were cut off as Laura grabbed Ichika with her IS arms around his body and kissed him. The entire class became silent. Even Charlotte and Kenneth were stunned.

"You… You will be my bride! Th-this is final! No objections!" Laura declared like a drill sergeant.

"WHAAATTTTTT!?"

Ichika took a few seconds to register what Laura said as Cecilia deployed her own IS and took aim with her Starlight Mk III rifle.

"Oh no, come on!" Ichika yelled as all the girls in IS armor besides Laura decided to point their weapons at him, all hot for firing. He back away as he heard a swing in the air as Houki slashed at his head with the katana she had from earlier.

"YYYOOOOUUU BASTAAAARRRRRRRDDDDDDDDD!"

Ichika made a run for it as Cecilia, Rin, and Houki started to boost after him. Laura poked her head out of the classroom, not understanding why the girls were chasing after him. Nevertheless, she started to follow as well.

Kenneth and Charlotte looked at the rumble that the girls created in the classroom then back to each other.

"What just happened?" Charlotte asked.

"I haven't a clue."

* * *

><p><strong>And that's it for now! Thank you guys!<strong> **But here's maybe a preview of something that I have been wanting to do for some time… Omake/Preview!**

* * *

><p>The year is Space Age 10. With humans advancing to the outer reaches of the Earth Sphere, a new era has begun.<p>

Then the Meteor-3 Incident. A strange metal landed on Earth, discovered by Tabane Shinonono.

The evolution of bipedal mechanized soldiers or Personal Troopers, dubbed by the community as Infinite Stratos.

Matter materialization and matter storage, human bodies can now be stored on to machines.

The Divine Crusaders have begun their war.

**Super Infinite Stratos Wars. (Maybe coming… Who knows?)**


	16. Study, study OH MAI GAWD!

**Disclaimer: I do not know anything by IS: Infinite Stratos and/or any fore-mentioned materials that belong to Third-Parties. They belong to their respected owners. However, original characters all belong to me, Grayjedi-Productions...**

**More fluff and whatnot! Also, I am starting another writing piece but due to its nature, it is not a Fanfiction but a completely new universe. ****The Vanguards**** is now on fictionpress! Please support its official releases!**

**As always… ****READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY! XD**

* * *

><p><strong>2135 Hours - May 20 2022 – IS Academy – Library 2<strong>**nd**** Floor**

* * *

><p>(Main theme is Heaven's Divide from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker)<p>

* * *

><p>"Did you try using force equals mass times acceleration?" Charlotte asked as she looked from the solutions manual of the IS regular Physics book.<p>

"I don't see how that would work in the long run though." Kenneth replied, scratching his head peeved. He had a look of tiredness about him, clouding his critical thinking.

It was a quiet night in the IS Academy and the Finals Week was underway. Due to the multiple nationality students coming from all parts of the globe, a regular schedule had to be established during this week. Two days ago, all classes had officially ended and the study period began. Luckily Kenneth had requested ahead of time for the STARIS "Protocol Waltz" several weeks ago so he could just focus on the upcoming exams.

But that still left the whole problem he had with Physics class. So he turned to Charlotte, perhaps one of the best students in the subject.

Twirling his pen around, then switching it to a reverse grip, he flung it lazily to the far side of the long table. "I'd rather be fighting several IS rogues than doing this."

Charlotte came over and bopped Kenneth on the head with her solution book, "I honestly doubt that Soldier Boy." She said in a playful manner.

Kenneth didn't bother with trying to remove the book from his head. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. But still."

Charlotte sighed as she closed the solution manual and walked to pick up Kenneth's pen. Flinging it towards him, she said. "I bet you don't complain about this doing that little exercise against those other pilots."

Kenneth grabbed the bouncing pen with his synthetic arm as he sighed, checking the time. "True."

Hearing his grumble, Charlotte opened the solutions again. "Alright then, let's try this again. Remember that the total force is equal to the mass times the acceleration."

"Alright then… The total mass of the force…" Kenneth mumbled again as he started to glare down hard at the paper, tapping a few numbers away at his calculator. Charlotte patiently waited.

After a few minutes Kenneth set down his pen, pushing back alittle. "That's pretty much all I can do with that problem."

Raising an eyebrow, Charlotte waited over and checked the answer. Looking over, she started to giggle. Kenneth face turned with irritation. "What's so funny?"

Charlotte turned to him with a smile and said. "Well the answer in general is correct."

"But?"

"You are going to get significant figure points off because it was only four sig-figs to your two."

Kenneth lowered his head and sighed exasperated, gathering his things. "Bullshit annoying ass…"

Charlotte rolled her eyes at Kenneth's cursing. Waiting for him to get completely packed up, she tapped on the table waiting. "Alright that's enough of that. Let's get something to eat."

At the mention of food, Kenneth's stomach growled. _That's right, I completely forgot about dinner today_. He thought before saying. "Wait, I thought you already ate with Ichika and company."

"It was more of a snack than anything else. Hopefully the cafeteria will still be open."

Slinging his backpack over his shoulders, Kenneth nodded and said. "Alright let's go."

The two of them walked over to the stairwell as Kenneth opened the door, saying. "After you." Charlotte let out a small smile as she descended with Kenneth just behind.

Stepping back into the first floor of the library, Kenneth walked back to Charlotte as she started to shyly look away, a red tint on her face.

"Char, I haven't seen you this shy. Something on your mind?"

"Oh nothing. Just thinking that's all." Kenneth was unconvinced, but decided to just let her muse before she asked.

"So how is Ichika doing now? You know after that whole getting chased by everybody?"

Kenneth had a little laugh, remembering what happened. "A few burns and cuts here and there. Most of the damage came from Houki and Rin. Cecilia couldn't really get a good hold in the hallways with her sniper rifle."

"You again have a strange sense of humor. It's kinda sociopathic." Charlotte pointed out.

Kenneth's face turned stoic in response, a little regret in his voice. "I'm sorry."

"Is it because of-" Charlotte turned to Kenneth as he looked down and away. "Kenneth is it because of what happened a year ago?"

"I guess." Kenneth continued to keep his voice low. He unconsciously started to grind his teeth together as the shoulder of his left arm started to have a small orange light bleed through his Academy uniform.

"Battery recharging?" Charlotte asked, seeing the light. Kenneth hesitantly nodded then said, "So I see that you have been paying attention to what exactly is going on with my augments."

Charlotte nodded in response saying, "Well since only Cecilia and I know exactly what happened." She then added on,

"So do you need to go back to your room to recharge or..?"

"N-no, I have a few hours before I need to charge. It's just a warning light. We can still get dinner."

* * *

><p><strong>2140 Hours – IS Academy – IS Cafeteria<strong>

* * *

><p>Kenneth grabbed several sandwiches and piled them on his tray. Most of the food stations were closed or all out, leaving sandwiches as the primary food. Charlotte had already taken a seat at a table as she started to lightly bite away at her snack, a few cookies that were leftover by the usual rush.<p>

Walking over to the table and placing his tray down next to Charlotte, he slid himself over to her and started to quietly munch on his sandwiches. The two continued their silence in awkwardness when Charlotte said. "Well at least we have the entire cafeteria to ourselves."

"Hn… yeah." Kenneth mused aloud as his thoughts carried elsewhere. In the past few days, he had been getting into awkward situations with Charlotte on a near daily basis. Whether it was accidently holding her hand, or just coming into close contact with her it started to make him uncomfortable. And he knew why, but didn't want to say it.

Kenneth, for the first time in a short year, was able to find some type of resonance with another female. As an officer, he had always double checked on his work, and this resonance was no exception. There was still an internal pain in his heart, something that wouldn't go away. Every time that Kenneth got into those awkward moments with Charlotte, the pain increased. He thought it was guilt. A promise that couldn't be made anymore. _Did I fail in the end?_

Charlotte, noticing Kenneth staring into space, waved her hand in front of his face. "You still there?"

"I'm sorry Char. Having things on my mind."

"Oh? Like what?"

"Like how Laura is hanging out with us." Kenneth saying the first time in response.

"Oh yeah. That. Well I think proclaiming Ichika 'your wife' would probably do something like that." Charlotte replied then giggled. "According to Cecilia, she is kinda acting like how you when you first came to the IS Academy."

Every day, he would be seen with all five of them, with a new addition of Laura. In hindsight, it reminded Kenneth of what he was like. Cold, calculating and misunderstanding everything that didn't involve a mission of kinds.

Kenneth started to yawn as he checked the battery life left on the synthetic arm. It was getting close to time.

"Alright Charlotte, looks like I need to get going. See you tomorrow?" he said, getting up from his seat, taking the tray that he brought along.

Charlotte nodded and got up as well. "Same time tomorrow."

With a smile, the two started to head over to the tray deposit as a piece of used napkin fell to the floor. With a sigh, Kenneth crouched down to the napkin as did Charlotte. Just as Kenneth had picked it up with his real hand, Charlotte had grabbed the top of his hand. With a slight gasp, she looked over at Kenneth as he looked back. The two of them stared into each other's eyes as Charlotte quickly pulled her hand away, blushing heavily. Kenneth, realizing what happened as well, stood back up, releasing the napkin.

Kenneth's head swirled with thought, as he calculated what happened. For a moment of safety, he had let go of what happened a year ago. All that anger and all that emotion that he kept buried inside, just seemed to evaporate. _I promised Angel that I'd stay with her until the end. But the end has happened. She's gone and I live. Is it wrong that I let go? Is it wrong that I..?_

"I-I-I guess that we could just leave it there. After all, its the janitorial duty to keep the cafeteria clean and whatnot!" Charlotte said nervously.

"Yeah, we could always just keep the thing there. They need to get paid for something." Kenneth, scratched his head, getting a headache as his brain started thinking up more variables.

"I. Uuhhh. Goodnight Kenny!" Charlotte hurried away as Kenneth stood there, tray still in hand. Looking at his synthetic arm, he remembered the personality core that he implanted into his old SI armor. Though it was no longer there, he still felt that it was. _If you were still alive and I were dead, what choices would you do?__  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>0825 Hours – May 21, 2022 - IS Academy – Room 1044<strong>

* * *

><p>Ichika started to wake up as he rubbed his eyes, yawning. Still somewhat unconscious, he started to reach to the other side of the bed as he felt something restricting part of his movement. Groaning abit, he then heard a soft female yawn as he stutter-yelled seeing a naked Laura curled up next to him.<p>

Slowly waking up from Ichika's sudden yell, she started to rub her eyes as she sat up, taking the blankets with her. Her unusual long grey hair had covered over her petite breasts as she yawned again, rubbing her right eye.

"Wha… Is it morning already?" she muttered.

"Wh-wh-what are you doing in my bed?!" Ichika pointed as Laura shrugged off the blanket, exposing herself completely. "Waaah! C-c-come on! Cover up idiot!"

"But aren't couples not supposed to hide anything?"

A rustle outside the door occurred as Kenneth came in, "Ichika, what exactly is going oooo-…" Upon seeing Ichika and Laura he just stood there.

"Midshipman, this is a private manner. Leave." Laura said with a commanding voice.

"Yes ma'am." Kenneth quickly closed the door as he left the room to Ichika's surprise.

"Hey, hey! Where are you going!?" Ichika extended his right arm to the door as Laura quickly grabbed Ichika's arm as she held it in a lock using her entire body to force Ichika onto the bed face first.

"Isn't this alittle earlier for some CQB? But I wouldn't mind teaching you and-"

"Wh-what are you talking about?!"

Another rustle was heard outside as another female voice was heard on the other side of the door. "Ah, Kenneth. Is Ichika awake?" It was obviously Houki.

"Probably. Go check yourself."

"ICHIKA! IT MAY BE SUNDAY, BUT WE HAVE TRAINING TO DO!" Houki boomed as she kicked open Ichika's door, stepping in. "So wake up an…"

Seeing Ichika being in a body lock with Laura, she was too stunned for words as she dropped her shinai.

"Well that's just rude, coming in on a married couple." Laura said, still in her lock.

"C-C…Co-COUPLE?!" Houki roared as she angrily picked up her shinai again.

"H-Houki! Let's be reasonable and-!"

"Divine PUNISHMENT!"

* * *

><p><strong>And that's it for now! The next chapter will cover the fluff that was Episode 9 and maybe the beginning of episode 10! This fanfiction is slowly coming to a close as I had prepared another fanfiction, just waiting to be released after this one!<strong>

**But as always, please check out the The Vanguards on fictionpress!**


	17. 11 O'Clock! Time for a Party!

**Disclaimer: I do not know anything by IS: Infinite Stratos and/or any fore-mentioned materials that belong to Third-Parties. They belong to their respected owners. However, original characters all belong to me, Grayjedi-Productions...**

**It seems that the IS Academy doesn't really have a known location but basing it around the Tokyo area would be the most likely area. Tokyo Bay it is!**

**And another thing, I'm not exactly familiar where things are in Tokyo; never had been there. Sorry T_T**

**PS: Yes, I'm aware that in the anime it says the 7****th**** of July. My question comes to why is school so late at getting out?**

**READ, REVIEW AND RESPOND PLEASE! XD**

* * *

><p><strong>2245 Hours – May 26, 2022 - IS Academy – IS Battlefields<strong>

* * *

><p>(Main theme is Heaven's Divide from the Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Game)<p>

* * *

><p>Houki stood in the stands of the IS Battlefields, remembering the times whenever Ichika and company were in danger. In her hand was a red cell phone. She hesitantly looked through the contacts for a certain someone. A feeling that she had been storing for a long time started to emerge.<p>

_How much longer must I wait here? I can't just be left here on the sidelines while everybody else fights. _Houki thought as she found the contact name: Shinonono Tabane. _Every time Ichika and his friends have a defining battle, it is me to stay on the sidelines. This is..._ Pressing down on the contact, the phone started to ring.

"Hello! Hi hi! This is everybody's Super Star Genius Tabane Shinonono on the line." Houki growled as she heard her older sister, still acting as the child. Pulling away the phone, she was about to hit the end call button as Tabane yelled, "Please no wait! Pretty please Houki-chan!"

"Nee-san…" Houki breathed out.

"Hm, hm! I know exactly why you called. You want your own personal unit, don't you? Don't go lying on me ok?"

Houki sighed. Hopefully this wouldn't take too much time. "Yes, it's true."

"Hehe, I already prepared one just for you! It's the strongest and fastest out of all the other specs in the world, and matches that white one too! And its name is… Akatsubaki!"

* * *

><p><strong>1315 Hours -<strong> **May 27, 2022 – Monorail**

* * *

><p>Charlotte sat relaxed in the monorails seats, leaving her hands on her laps as she looked outside the window. Kenneth sat right next to the window, tapping away at his synthetic arm, as if looking for something. Ichika rested his hands over the backside of the seat where all three of them were as he happily looked on the other side of the monorail, seeing the waters below gently crashing against each other.<p>

"So why exactly are we going outside the school for?" Charlotte asked as Ichika happily leaned forward.

"Well, Ken and I thought about getting swim suits for the trip coming up soon. With Finals week almost done and everything talking about it, now is probably the best time."

"Oh, I see." Charlotte said, closing her eyes with a smile.

"These uniforms. We don't need them for outside activities right? So why are we wearing them?" Kenneth said, rubbing his chin with his real hand.

"Force of habit I guess?" Ichika forcefully laughed.

"It's a little bit too late for that now." As the three continued to muse, the monorail slowed to a halt as the doors pinged for the passengers to get off. The group of three exited the monorail as its doors closed waited for the people to get on. While a few people ignored the three, some did take notice as they looked at Ichika and Kenneth with slight awe.

"Wait is that..?"

"No-way, both male IS pilots are here."

"That's them right? The only two male pilots of the IS?"

Ichika quickly cupped his face with his right hand, cursing. "Aww, crap. We should have seen this."

Charlotte titled her head. "What do you mean?"

"With both male IS pilots outside, we might be getting unwanted attention. It was the real first time that we had been off-campus to do anything really."

The crowds of people slowly took notice to both male pilots as the three nervously assimilated into the crowds, hoping to get away unnoticed.

"Is there a way that we could have our way unnoticed?" Charlotte asked, grabbing onto Kenneth's real hand. He had, however loosened his grip. The three continued to think on the question as Kenneth snapped his fingers. "Got it! What if I was to disguise myself?" Slowing to a halt near a wall, Charlotte and Ichika looked puzzled at each other then back to him.

"What do you mean? You aren't exactly girly looking." Ichika said, crossing his arms. Charlotte pondered on the thought then quickly shook her head.

Kenneth pulled left sleeve of his uniform revealing his synthetic arm in full. "Using this… The Full Body Modifier, or FBM."

"Which does?" Charlotte asked.

"Well, it _can _allow me to be disguised as a woman." Kenneth replied as Charlotte and Ichika's eyes widened. After a few seconds, Ichika said,

"Wait, what? How exactly does that work?"

"Something like how Charlotte was able to cloak her gender with her IS jumpsuit." At that moment, Charlotte had thought of several instances what Kenneth could do with that synthetic arm of his. One of those thoughts…

_Bad idea, bad idea…_ Charlotte internally thought as she quickly shook her head again. Finally, she spoke, "Don't you feel that you're missing your… You know? Manhood?"

"It's just cloaking. Still there, but just not shown."

Ichika sighed as the more people started to take notice at them. "Kinda too late now. They already know that we are here." Looking around, Kenneth sighed as well. "Should have prepared sooner."

All three of them sighed as they slowly walked over to the escalators, riding them down. From the corner of the escalators, two female figures wearing IS Academy uniforms peaked their heads out. It was Cecilia and Rin, watching the three go down.

"So what exactly did we see?" Cecilia asked.

"At least my eyes don't deceive me. It's just though three again."

"Should we try and isolate Ichika from the two?"

"Oh yes lets." As the two girls nodded in agreement, they saw Laura watch right past them. It looked like she was heading over to the three. Alarmed, Cecilia and Rin grabbed Laura's arm as she violently turned around, pulling out a knife only to see the two other girls shocked from her reaction.

"Oh. I see that it is just you two." Laura said aloofly, putting away the knife.

"What the hell was that?!" Rin yelled.

"Just being ready."

"With what?" Cecilia then interjected.

"You can never be too careful." The two girls cupped their head with a sigh as Laura titled her head.

"I see that my wife is still hanging around with those two. I shall join up with them." Laura started to leave as two of them pulled her back again.

"Come on, really? We need to strategize for a second." Cecilia said.

"What do you have in mind?"

* * *

><p><strong>1400 Hours – Tokyo – Grandberry Mall<strong>

* * *

><p>Charlotte walked ahead of Kenneth and Ichika as the three looked around. The grand outlet mall expanded in every direction as Charlotte giggled with joy, looking at every store.<p>

"Hey Char," Ichika said, "I'm going with go check on something. You can go ahead and look for something."

"Oh alright. Kenny, are you coming?"

Kenneth shook his head as he said, "Nah, I have something to pick up actually. I'll be right by though."

Charlotte looked puzzled for a second, but then nodded and head off in another direction. Ichika had a small grin as he said, "So you took my advice about that huh?"

"It's a thank you type I suppose." Kenneth grunted back.

"You're a good friend Kenny. So let's go check on those things." The two boys wandered over to a small jewelry shop as the cashier welcomed them.

"Hello there sir. I had placed an order on a bracelet…" Kenneth said as Ichika wanted his turn.

"Oh yes, now I remember." The cashier turned and brought out a small gift box and handed it to him. "Cash or credit?"

Kenneth pulled out of his debt card as the cashier quickly scanned it and gave it back. "Thank you." Kenneth put out a small smile as Ichika walked up to the counter and did the same thing. Obtaining a small gift box as well, the two exited the store as Ichika recognized two familiar faces. Both of them had red hair, a male and a female.

The male was rather tall, and carried a slightly thug-ish face. His hair behind a bandana, he was carrying several bags with boxes. They all looked heavy. The female too had a bandana. She looked rather tomboy-ish, but it didn't detract from her beauty.

"But sis!" The red haired man said, placing the bags on the ground.

"The summer time is a time to be ready for any situation!" his sister replied, placing her hands on her hips.

"Ah Ran, what are you talking about?" Ichika said as she turned towards him, very surprised.

"Ah, ah Ichika!" Ran Gotanda said, as Dan smiled behind her.

"Oh hey there Ichika, how's it goin-!" Dan was suddenly cut off midsentence as Ran shoved him back as he fell.

"Oh, oh Ichika!" Ran, said twirling her hair around. "Guess what? I got accepted into the IS Academy!"

Ichika had a wide smile as he said, "Wow! That's great! Study smart, alright?"

"Of course… Sempai." Ran blushed as she continued to twirl around her hair. Kenneth on the other hand helped Dan back up.

"Thanks. You're Kenneth right? Dan Gotanda."

"Kenneth Buyuu. A pleasure." Once Dan was back on his feet, Kenneth looked at him, seeing that he was pretty tall compared to Ichika and himself. Nevertheless, he attempted to have a small conversation, since his sister and Ichika were still talking.

"So how long have you known Ichika?"

"Since middle school or so."

Seeing Ran getting easily flustered by simply talking with Ichika, Kenneth frowned and asked, "Is Ichika always like this?"

"Definitely." Dan chuckled. Kenneth then suddenly felt his right hand being grabbed as he turned, seeing Charlotte. "Come'on!" She said, as she started to drag him away. Dan saw the action and looked puzzled as the two stumble walked away.

_Love, love is in the air. If only Ichika would get a clue…_ He thought as Ichika started to apologize to Ran about something.

"Alright Charlotte. Care to explain exactly where we are going?" Kenneth asked as the two entered a swim suit store as she let go of him right in front of a changing booth. Kenneth tilted his head as he looked around. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cecilia, Rin and Laura looking around the bikinis. He chuckled to himself about seeing Laura looking around, her gaze rather glazed and unsure of what to do.

He then heard the sound of clothing being removed from the changing booth. His mind wandering, he thought up of rather eroge instances and-

_Wait… What the hell am I thinking?_ Kenneth thought, cupping his head as Charlotte announced, "Ok, finished!"

Resuming his normal composure, Kenneth replied. "Ready."

At that moment, Charlotte opened the curtains of the changing booth. She had an orange bikini stripped with black lines on the skirt part. Kenneth, eyes widening, smiled. "It's beautiful that's for sure."

Charlotte twirled in a circle, exposing the entire bikini to him. "Mhhm. Maybe I'll buy this one."

Happily turned back to the changing booth, Charlotte closed the curtains again. Kenneth looked around the store as Rin, Cecilia, and Laura had decided to do some bikini shopping in the same store. Ichika then walked into the store as well as Rin and Cecilia hurried out of sight to spy.

Unaware of the two, Ichika saw Laura looking puzzled at the bikinis. He walked over to Laura and asked, "Hello again Laura. What are you doing?"

Turning around, Laura blushed and took a hair strand out of her face. "Looking for something. I cannot really decide."

"Why not ask your superior officer? I'm quite sure that Kenneth would do the same." Ichika said jokingly.

Laura's eye lit up as she nodded and took out her cell phone walking away. "W-w-wait. You aren't serious are you?"

She turned to Ichika with a dead serious look.

* * *

><p><strong>1100 Hours – June 6, 2022 – Beach Front besides the SeaSide School<strong>

* * *

><p>"It's 11 o'clock everybody!" Maya Yamada yelled to the students as they scattered about the beach. "Return to the inn by dinner alright?"<p>

"Yes ma'am!"

As several of the girls started to play with a beach ball, Ichika started stretching his body as Honne Nohotoke walked over to him with her three friends. "Hey there Orimu! Do you want to play some beach ball?"

Ichika smiled as he said, "Definitely." Just then, Rin jumped on his back to his surprise. "Oi, Rin! What are you doing?"

"Wow! I think I can see my house from here!"

"Hey that looks like fun! I wanta turn!"

"Me too!"

_What the hell? Did I just become everybody's piggyback servant?_ Ichika thought as Cecilia huffed next to him. In her hands were a beach umbrella and towel. "Ichika, did you forget what we talked about on the bus ride here?"

"Oh right. That uuhhh…"

"Oh my, you are an **oaf**!" Cecilia huffed again as she slammed the umbrella into the sand. Unrolling the towel she loosened and removed her top bikini as she laid stomach against the ground. Placing tanning oil right besides her she said, "Now then… As you promised."

"Hey! What exactly are you trying to pull?!" Rin yelled, fuming.

Cecilia had herself a sly grin. "Oh nothing. Just what Ichika promised. A nice rub with the sun oil of course."

Rin hopped off Ichika as he sighed. "I guess that it can't be helped." Kneeling down next to Cecilia, he started pouring the sun oil on his hands as the girls watched, their eyes gleaming with anger for not thinking of this idea first. As Ichika started to place his hands on Cecilia's back, she squealed.

"Ichika, can you please warm the oil before you rub it on?"

"Sorry! This is my first time doing something like this." Ichika replied as he started to rub his hands together. Cecilia's face blushed at his comment.

"Oh… This is your first time? Well then you are excused." Rin and the rest of the girls slanted their eyes as Ichika continued. Cecilia seemed to be enjoying herself a little bit too much.

"_Ooohhh_ Ichika… While you're at it, may you please rub it everywhere, including my butt?"

Ichika choked up as he stuttered out, "Ev-Everywhere?!"

Rin bumped Ichika to the side, her hands already covered with sun oil. "Oh no. Please, let me do this one." Cackling, Rin started to rapidly apply the oil as Cecilia started laughing, feeling tickled.

"Oh, you want _more_?" Rin evilly grinned as she lifted the bottom part of Cecilia's bikini, rubbing her hands down her butt. Squealing, Cecilia turned over completely, yelling, "Rin that is Enou-"

That second, the girls and Ichika saw an exposed Cecilia as the wind had graciously blew over, covering her nipples. Ichika's eyes widened as blood started to run down his nose. Cecilia, noticing the nose bleed, materialized her IS gauntlet arm as she punched Ichika in the face.

Luckily, Ichika had deployed his IS's Absolute Barrier before the punched connected.

It still hurt.

**Meanwhile**

Kenneth stood by the woman's bathroom as she waited for Laura and Charlotte to come out. Yelling inside, he said, "So your commanding officer said 'To show some skin with a bikini'?"

"Keep quiet Midshipman!"

"Very well Second Lieutenant."

Kenneth smirked as he continued to wait. After a few more minutes, Charlotte exited the bathroom with a towel-mummy with grey pigtails. An iconic black eyepatch was over where its left eye would be.

"Second Lieutenant is that…"

The towel mummy grunted as Charlotte started to it. Kenneth scratched his head, following after the two. A few minutes later, the three had arrived at the beach as Cecilia and her friend Shizune Takatsuki started to drag Rin towards the inn against her will.

"She doesn't seem to be hurt is she's that energetic and…" Ichika said aloud as he turned to see the three. Smiling at Charlotte and Kenneth, he turned to the towel-mummy with a surprised look. "Woah, what's with the towel monster?"

"Well, this is Laura and she is-." Kenneth was cut short as Laura stamped on his toes, as he started to hop on one leg.

"Wait… This is Laura?" Ichika asked again as Charlotte whispered into Laura's ear. "You know, if you keep this thing up, you might lose favor with Ichika. Would you mind if the other girls were to have fun with him while you're still in this thing?"

"N-no! That is unacceptable!" Flustered, Laura quickly removed the towels revealing her black small bikini. The bikini top had a nice holding tie in the front as its loose ends draped over. Ichika's face lit up with amusing surprising. "Wow! Laura you look great! That really is cute!"

Her exposed eye widened as her face turned bright like a tomato. "You-you-you really th-think this is c-c-cute! That's… That's the first time anybody has said that to me." Looking down, Laura started to fumble around with her fingers.

From a little bit far away, Honne and her friends yelled and waved over next to a beach ball net. "Come'on Ichika! You promised a game with us!"

"Right! Coming!" He yelled as he turned to the three. "How about a game huh guys?"

Charlotte and Kenneth nodded as Laura continued to blush mindlessly nodding. The four hurried over as to the court. Kenneth, seeing the odd numbers, stepped out as he started to tap away at his synthetic arm.

Taking the beach ball, one of Honne's friends grinned, readying her serve. "This is why my nickname is the 'Summer Devil'! Alright, here we go!" Launching the ball up, she smacked it to the other side of the court as Charlotte set it into the air.

"Nice set!" Ichika yelled as he jumped up and spiked the ball. Honne was in the right position as she bounced the ball into the air just before the net. Seeing the opportunity, the other friend of Honne dashed over and spiked it to the other side, smacking Laura in the face as she fell to the ground.

Charlotte and Ichika gasped as they ran over to Laura's side. Kenneth saw the hit as well, making his way over too. "Laura, are you ok?" They all said.

"He… He called me cute." She mumbled her face red from the hit or perhaps still blushing.

"Hey Laura, are you ok?" Ichika leaned in more as Laura bolted up and ran into the ocean's water.

"Uuuhhh, should I go after her?" Ichika asked as Kenneth and Charlotte laughed. Regaining her composure, Charlotte replied, "Nah, it's probably best to just let her be."

Just then, the girls on the beach started to talk amongst themselves in shock and awe as Chifuyu and Maya had returned to the beach. Clad in bikinis, their hair blew in the wind as the girls gushed about their bikinis. Ichika, stunned and shocked, turned away from his sister's view.

"OOohhh. Volleyball huh? Mind if we join in?" Maya asked as the Honne and friends nodded as they stepped out while another girl rotated in.

Scratching his head nervously, Ichika returned his view to the court as Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "Could it be that Chifuyu is your type Ichika?"

"Wha? What are you saying?" Ichika looked over.

"Well you really aren't reacting that much with every other girl in the Freshman year being in bikinis." Kenneth pointed out.

"This is a lot of rivals…" Charlotte shook her head. "And now Orimura-sensei joins in."

"Yes your right. My sister is an incredibly strong enemy. Let's be ready for anything!"

Kenneth raised an eyebrow as Charlotte had a small giggle. "I don't think you quite understood me."

"What?"

Kenneth and Charlotte turned to each other as they smiled. Bumping their fists together, they got ready. One of the girls brought over a radio as it started playing a song from 2012. By the sounds of it, it barely started.

_Whoa-oh-oh-oh__  
><em>_It's always a good time__  
><em>_Whoa-oh-oh-oh__  
><em>_It's always a good time_

Chifuyu had a deadly grin on her face as she served up the ball. As the two teams volleyed the ball back and forth as each side didn't want to release..

_Woke up on the right side of the bed__  
><em>_What's up with this Prince song inside my head?__  
><em>_Hands up if you're down to get down tonight__  
><em>_'Cause it's always a good time__  
><em>

The volleyball players started to sway with the beat, keeping their bodies lowered and ready to strike at the ball. Kenneth nearly missed hitting at the ball as it flew towards Charlotte. Reacting just in time, Charlotte set the ball towards Ichika as he spiked it into the sand.

_Slept in all my clothes like I didn't care__  
><em>_Hopped into a cab, take me anywhere__  
><em>_I'm in if you're down to get down tonight__  
><em>_'Cause it's always a good time_

The girls, realizing the songs beat started to dance along, swaying around in happiness as Rin was being chased by Cecilia. Hearing the song starting to reach its chorus, the volleyball players stopped as they attempted to sing along.

_Good morning and good night__  
><em>_I'll wake up at twilight__  
><em>_It's gonna be alright!__  
><em>_We don't even have to try__  
><em>_It's always a good time!_

Laura started to make her way back to shore as other girls gathered around her, smiling and giggling at her bikini. Laura continued to look embarrassed and shyly looked away. One of the girls grabbed her hand and started to drag her away from the waters.

_Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa-oh-oh-oh__  
><em>_It's always a good time__  
><em>_Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa-oh-oh-oh__  
><em>_We don't even have to try, it's always a good time!_

* * *

><p><strong>I was originally planning for this part to longer, but I guess that I will split it up into two parts! That's it for now! <strong>


	18. Akatsubaki! The Red Line

**Disclaimer: I do not know anything by IS: Infinite Stratos and/or any fore-mentioned materials that belong to Third-Parties. They belong to their respected owners. However, original characters all belong to me, Grayjedi-Productions...**

**If people had been watching my profile, I had released a new Fanfiction in the world of Sword Art Online! ****Sword Art Online: Chronicles****! Please support those releases as well!**

**Zedept000****: Shipping? Me? Eehhh, perhaps. I really can't write for romance (Maybe)…**

**Wings of the Fallen:**** Indeed I do plan to continue with the light novels, but on a later date when I already am starting another Fanfiction, and an original series. So perhaps on a later date.**

**READ, REVIEW AND RESPOND PLEASE! XD**

* * *

><p><strong>2223 Hours – Seaside Inn – Dinning Room<strong>

* * *

><p>(The main theme is still Heaven's Divide from the Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker game)<p>

* * *

><p>The room was separated by two groups. One of them was seated by tables while the other ones had decided to stay in <em>seiza<em> position, eating their food elevated on individual table platforms.

Ichika, Charlotte and Cecilia sat in a row with Ichika in the middle. Kenneth on the other hand, sat right across from Charlotte. Happily swallowing on some sashimi with a dab of wasabi and soy sause, Ichika said, "Nothing is better than fresh and real wasabi!"

Charlotte titled her head as she looked at the wasabi paste as she picked up the entire thing and swallowed it. In mere moments, she dropped her chop sticks on the table as she plugged her nose as tears started to fall from her face. Some of the girls snickered at her reaction.

"Char, are you alright?" Kenneth said with concern. Ichika nodded as well.

"It's really tasteful…" Charlotte managed to speak as she continued to plug her nose. Handing over his cup, Kenneth said, "I hope that you're going to be ok."

Sighing relief, Ichika turned to Cecilia as she was struggling with keeping herself in the _seiza _position. "Hey Cecilia, if you can't stay in this position, you can always move to the tables."

"No, no. Don't worry about me." Cecilia managed to smile out as she muttered, "Compared to getting this seat next to you, this pain is nothing."

"Huh?"

"No-nothing at all!"

Looking around the group, Ichika caught eyes with Houki as she continuously glared at him. _Wha. What a face. What did I do?_ Still seeing Cecilia struggling, Ichika then said, "You know, I could always feed you."

Cecilia's face lit up like a Christmas tree as she said. "Really? You really will feed me? I don't like leaving any food on my plate."

Ichika started feeding Cecilia the sashimi as the other girls took notice,

"Aww, that's completely unfair!"

"Ichika, what about us?!"

Houki's eyes slanted as she started to drink down her soup in distain. _Stupid Ichika…_

As the racket in the room escalated, Chifuyu barged in as she yelled, "Shut the hell up everyone! If you can't keep your voices don't…"

The students instantly settled down as she turned to Ichika. "Orimura, keep the racket down." With that, she slammed the door again.

With a sigh, Ichika whispered something to Cecilia making her blush madly. As the rest of the class finished their food, they promptly decided to head over to the kitchen to place their dishes. Kenneth had done the same as he decided to exit the room and leave towards the edges of the inn. Charlotte took notice, but decided to let him be for the moment.

Exiting outside, Kenneth looked around the edges of the inn for a quiet corner. Finding one, he crouched down as he tapped a few buttons on his synthetic arm as a microphone and earpiece popped out. Taking both he hailed the local STARIS Command for a line back home.

"Command this is Midshipman Kenneth Arthur Buyuu."

"This is Captain Brian. Hello there Kenneth. How is everything?"

"Captain…"Kenneth said. It has been a while since he had actually spoken to him. After the raid on the Phantom Task base, he only relayed messages to the Captain.

"Well who else were you expecting?"

"Either way sir. Has my SI armor been repaired yet?"

"Sorry Midshipman, we haven't received word on that yet. The mechanics are doing some test bed things with Janus' new information dump on STARIS High Command. It may be some time."

Kenneth groaned a little as he replied, "Very well then sir. Out." Closing the communications line, the microphone and eyepiece retracted back into his arm as he stood back up. Placing his hands in the kimono, Kenneth started to make his way back inside the inn. Looking around, he continued to search around as he eventually found the girls crowding around a door as he walked over.

"What exactly is going on here?"

Cecilia and Rin hushed at Kenneth as they pressed their ears against the door. Listening in, he could clear hear Ichika and Chifuyu. Their dialogue seemed very incestuous. The door couldn't keep the weight of all six of them as they collapsed on the ground inside the room. Looking up, they saw Chifuyu on her back as Ichika was giving her a backrub.

*****A few minutes later*****

The girls and Kenneth had all settled down as Ichika had sat in the chair patiently waiting to break the silence. However, Chifuyu was the one to. Taking a seat in a chair next to Ichika, she said,

"Alright, what was so interesting for you three to be leaning against the door?"

"Yeah, it was just a backrub."

Cecilia's face lit up with relief. "Ohh, how silly of us."

"Hmmph, it seems that our calculations were incorrect." Laura commented as Ichika blinked. "Uhhh, what were you thinking then?"

"Well naturally we thought it was in-." The rest of the girls, include Charlotte wrapped their hands over Laura's mouth. Kenneth had a low sigh, looking down.

"Uh huh. Right." Ichika said, not exactly understanding what was going on.

"Well he may not seem like it, but Ichika here is a wondrous masseur. Might as well like you girls enjoy him too." Chifuyu chuckled.

Ichika scratched his head, "Nah, it's nothing like that. But yeah, Cecilia, this is kinda the reason I wanted you to come over. So why don't you go first?"

"Re-really?" Cecilia heavily blushed, playing with a curl in her hair. Laying down, she rested herself as Ichika started pressing down at her back. Slowly, Cecilia's face started to doze off.

"Cecilia, are you sure that this doesn't hurt?"

"No, no… Ahhh, this is good." The other girls started their death glares at Cecilia as Chifuyu nonchalantly lifted Cecilia's kimono, revealing French black lace panties to the rest of the girls and Kenneth. The girls reacted with shock as they tried to process what was going through Cecilia's head to wear that. Kenneth closed his eyes and looked away.

"My, my. What a peculiar set of underwear you have."

"Sen-sensei please!"

"What? Did you think that those naughty eighteen year old dreams would-."

"Orimura-sensei please!" Cecilia pleaded as Chifuyu let out a mischievous chuckle and let go. Turning to Ichika she said, "Ichika. Get me a few drinks will ya?"

"S-sure." Standing back up, Ichika exited the room quickly as Chifuyu got up as well. Walking behind a wall, she grabbed two beer cans as she looked over at Kenneth. He looked away as she got the idea. Holding both cans, she snapped one open and relaxed in the chair.

"So girls. What do you exactly see in Ichika anyways?" Chifuyu asked her body more lax. The girls, besides Charlotte, looked at each other before Chifuyu continued, drinking some more.

"Sure, he's a good house man and does a pretty good job with massages. A pretty lucky woman would be happy to be with him." Leaning in she said, "So do you girls really want him? Huh?"

"We can?!" Cecilia, Rin, Houki and Laura said in unison.

"Phff. As if!" A collective groan.

"Get with the program girls. If you're a true woman, go with the attitude of wanting to pick up a man." Chifuyu took a big gulp as her face became more and more relaxed. "Alright, now get. I'll tell Ichika that you all left for something."

Sighing sadly, Houki, Laura, Cecilia and Rin got themselves as they exited the room. Kenneth and Charlotte were about to leave as Chifuyu said. "Buyuu. Stay here for a second."

Nodding, Kenneth looked at Charlotte nodded to her as well. With an understanding closing of her eyes, Charlotte left the room, something on her mind.

"Take a seat Midshipman, 'cause I know I will." Chifuyu then promptly sat back in her chair, her body slouched.

Taking the seat next to her, Chifuyu passed over the beer. Taking it, Kenneth snapped it open as well, remarking. "I am still underage ma'am."

"Drink it. I'll take responsibility if necessary." Cracking open the beer, he took a sip as the bitter taste ran down his tongue. He didn't like a single bit of it, but continued to drink nevertheless.

"You and the blonde one becoming an item?"

The sudden question blipped in Kenneth's mind for a moment before he said. "I… do not know."

Chifuyu gave an irritated growl. "Don't be bullshitting me Midshipman. I was checking around the Grandberry Mall weeks back. I saw you and her at the bikini shop."

Kenneth coughed up some of the beer as Chifuyu sighed. "What a perfectly good waste of booze."

"You saw that ma'am?!" Kenneth said his voice with alarm.

"Don't go jumping off bridges. Just sayin'."

The two sat in silence when Kenneth finally said, "Yes. I guess." He lowered his head.

"The hell are you getting down for?"

"Just personal things I guess." He took another sip of the beer, feeling that the nano-machines in his body not exactly going at maximum potential.

"So you are starting feel human again, eh? Hitokiri of STARIS?"

Growling at the nickname, Kenneth gulped down the beer as Chifuyu raised an amused eyebrow. At that moment, Ichika wandered back into the room seeing it vacant.

"Uuuhh, where did everybody go?"

"They went back to their rooms. Go meet up with them if you want." Kenneth said his voice slurred slightly. Ichika raised an eyebrow at his slurred speech but then exited the room.

"Either way," Chifuyu continued, handing another beer to Kenneth. "What? You don't like that nickname of yours?"

"I have grown to resent it."

"Aye, but its what you are, isn't it?"

"A killer. An assassin. Yes, it is." Kenneth said, cracking the beer open and started chugging it.

"Then why not embrace it?"

Kenneth played with his fingers as they tapped against the beer can as he sighed. "I don't know. I honestly don't know."

"Heh. Did sealing yourself for an entire year do that much damage to ya?"

"No. It was that Black IS in Murmansk." Kenneth took another sip, seeing that the beer was almost gone. Slowly and slowly, he could feel that his body started to negatively react to the alcohol content, as the nano-machines did not register to help remove the alcohol. Chifuyu had only finished one beer and reached for another.

"I had my revenge that day. It simply carried over."

"So what are you going to do now?"

Kenneth shrugged as he finished off the beer. Chifuyu handed him another open one, a small grin on her face.

"All that anger I had back then. Coming here… Was it a mistake?"

"I don't think so."

"The death of hundreds rest in my hands. I should have been killed on the spot after my capture."

Chifuyu punched Kenneth on the synthetic shoulder. "But here you are. Alive and well… ish. Do you honestly think that it's going to be your fault in the end?"

Kenneth sighed, taking another gulp. "Chif- tch, Ma'am may I ask?"

"Shoot."

"What made you quit being Leader of the Three?"

"You had seen the reason right before your face. My little brother of course. I had dirtied my hand in the past. No amount of hand washing will clear that. But at least I can make up the time with something else. Something… different." She drank some more as she exclaimed, "Or I'm just talking out of my ass so heh!"

Kenneth's brain and body lagged behind as he eventually said, "So in other words, that's your reason? To just throw away the past?"

"Not throw away, but to keep it to look forward."

The two continued to drink down beers still pondering on things.

**2322 Hours – SeaSide Hotel – Near Kenneth's room**

Charlotte had been waiting outside Kenneth's door as she looked down the darkened halls. The sound of the students started to die down as most of the noise was the distance tidal waves by the beach. Still, Kenneth had been away nearly a hour.

_The attitude of picking up a man. _Charlotte thought as she reflected on Chifuyu's words. It was something she guessed. After figuring out her identity those few months back, Charlotte did realize that she had been with Kenneth a lot. Just walking around, talking about school and the upcoming grades and tests. Just acting like normal people.

Sighing, she started to head back to her room when Chifuyu appeared, holding up Kenneth as he chuckle/laughed in a drunken stupor. Charlotte smelled the booze from the two of them as she plugged her nose, wishing for something else like French wine.

"Here you go! One drunken Super Soldier. Have fun Frenchie!" Chifuyu said, leaving Kenneth at Charlotte's feet as she started making her back. Charlotte, gulping down, crouched down to Kenneth's face.

"You alright there?"

Looking over to Charlotte, Kenneth's face was carefree and lackadaisical. Two words that really shouldn't go with his personality. With a smile he said, "Wwhhy hello there."

"You're drunk." Charlotte said, giving a bit of a pouting face.

"You're cute when ya makin' that face." Blushing slightly, Charlotte helped pick Kenneth from the ground as she made him use something of his legs as she opened the door to his room.

"Why couldn't it have been wine?" She lamented as Kenneth chuckled.

"'Cause wine is for fancy stuff. This is just a little… crash isn't it?" With droopy eyes, he started to stare down at her breasts, despite the kimono suppressing it. Charlotte, really feeling to slap him, just laid him down on the traditional Japanese bed as she sat down to his head.

With another crack of a smile, he said, "If only it was isolated…"

"What?"

"Ya know. You, me. Nice quiet place. Stuff."

"You're a pig." Charlotte scoffed as Kenneth groaned, "Whaat? Just wanted to hold ya close and stuff." Charlotte's face became puzzled as Kenneth looked back with a drunken face.

With a melodramatic feint, he looked away. "So cruel for a French rose to have thorns." Blushing slightly, Charlotte looked away as she said, "Well, it's your fault that you gotten yourself drunk like that. Aren't you underage anyways?" Mentally, she reviewed her words. _I sound just like Houki right now._

"Yeah I am… Please don't tell anybody pleeeasse?" He looked over with a begging face. It would have been completely out of character for him if he wasn't drunk.

"Alright fine…" Charlotte said, as she started to feel pity. Kenneth slowly started to get himself as Charlotte forced him back down.

"Now where exactly are you going?"

"Up."

"No your not."

"Eeehhh, fiiine." Kenneth turned away as he started muttering stuff in his stupor. As he started to doze to bed Charlotte started hatching an idea. Seeing Kenneth continuously moving in his sleep Charlotte thought of sleeping next to him. Getting flustered on the thought, she quickly exited the room as she whispered to herself, rushing back and forth.

"Well if I do stay here…"

"No, I really should head back to my room."

"But it's a simple night with him..!"

"No, no that's just too perverse."

"But he's drunk and if the other students figure out..!" Cursing under her breathe Charlotte sighed. _This is going to be awhile._ Giving up, she decided to check on Kenneth again, he was still moving around and fidgeting. Cursing again, she slowly started to crawl over to him. Suddenly jerking, he faced Charlotte his face low and his body curled slightly.

Blushing heavily Charlotte backed away as she rethought of her approach as the smell of the alcohol disappeared from his mouth. _It must be those nano-machines working_.

Sighing, she crawled over to Kenneth, placing herself facing his face as she too fell asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>0745 Hours – June 7, 2022 – Kenneth's Room<strong>

* * *

><p>A pounding headache overwhelmed Kenneth as he groaned loudly. <em>So this… Is a hangover. Lovely.<em> Cracking his eyes open; he saw something blonde/yellow in his face. As the nanomachines were still busy cleaning up the alcohol and reevaluating his body condition, Kenneth dismissing it as a reflection of the sun, he started to bring his left arm up only to find that there was something on it. The hangover haze started to disappear as he found himself with Charlotte sleeping right next to him. A sudden shock to his heart and mind, the nanomachines instantly went to overdrive as he no longer felt a hangover haze.

Seeing Charlotte still sleeping, Kenneth's mouth twitched uncontrollably as his eyes rapidly looked around for a way to escape. Leaving his mouth dry, Kenneth swallowed, hoping that she would wake up soon. With his free hand, he went to tap her on the shoulder but instead grabbed it instead. Groaning alittle, Charlotte started to rub her eyes as she slowly noticed Kenneth's shocked and nervous face.

"Uuuhhh…" Charlotte pushed against Kenneth's body as she quickly got herself up and brushed off her kimono. Kenneth quickly got himself up as well, looking the other way. He felt like he was having a heart attack as he gripped his chest.

"S-s-so…" Charlotte said as turned back to Kenneth.

"Why did you stay?" he asked.

"You kept trying to get up, and I didn't want for you to get caught being drunk."

"Orimura-sensei said that she would have taken full responsibility."

The two kept their silence as they heard a loud crash happen outside as the building shook.

"What was that?" Charlotte asked as Kenneth's eyes dulled before walking towards the door.

"Let's go investigate." Charlotte noticed the quick switch of his demeanor as she decided to follow to the outside branch. There was an impact crater from an orange cone that was split down the middle. Stylistic green metal hung at the top of the cone's split ends.

Kenneth looked around as he saw circuitry and other mechanical specifics. Charlotte frowned at it saying. "Why is there a mechanical carrot in the ground?"

Kenneth, not realizing that, took a step back. It was indeed a mechanical carrot. "This is completely impractical."

* * *

><p><strong>1324 Hours – Hidden Cove<strong>

* * *

><p>The personal IS holders were gathered in their jumpsuits as they looked around the enclosed area. It was hidden away from the rest of the students, but still had a fair distance away from the inn if necessary. Strangely Houki had come along as well, holding a wooden bokken. Chifuyu had remained silent the entire time it took for them to all come, giving curt nods. Maya however was with the rest of the Freshman, making sure that their IS training hasn't gone to the wayside despite it being summer vacation from a technical standpoint.<p>

As Kenneth's eyes remained dull, he looked around. Nothing of great importance. All the personal IS holders in one location. Chifuyu decided to start talking.

"So I bet that you're all wondering why you are here?"

"Y-yeah." Cecilia said when Rin included, "Yes. And Houki isn't a personal IS hol-."

"**CHI-CHAN!"**

The IS pilots look to the right as they saw a dust cloud traveling down the cliffside, as a woman with dyed purple hair and robotic rabbit ears jumped up to the platform heading straight at Chifuyu.

Having an annoyed look on her face, Chifuyu moved back a few feet as the woman slammed her face into the sand. Immediately hopping up without a single scratch on her face, she ran at Chifuyu.

"Oh come'on Chi-chan! Let us hug to show our _love_ for each other! Fuhhmmm!" Chifuyu placed her palm into the face of the woman. Well, almost her face. There was a clear barrier between Chifuyu's hand and the woman's face. The barrier shinned blue like an IS shield.

"One. Don't call me that. Two, shut up Tabane."

Cecilia, Laura, Rin, Charlotte and Kenneth's minds picked up on the name. Tabane. As in Tabane Shinonono, the creator of the IS armors and their cores. While the other girls had their thoughts on how she acted, Kenneth scanned her over. It was a purple dress-like clothing. _The creator of one of the greatest threats in the age of deterrence is a child?_

Finally stopping her assault, Tabane grinned wildly at Chifuyu. "Mhm, mhm! Still as cold as usual, huh?"

Looking around, Tabane eventually found Houki who tried to hide herself from embarrassment. Popping right behind her Tabane smiled with a "Hi there!"

"Ta-tabane…" Houki said, getting herself up.

"Mhm. Long time no see right? A few years? My my, Houki-chan really has grown up! Especially your breas-." Before Tabane could finish off her sentence, Houki smacked her sister's face with the wooden bokken. Luckily there was a shield, but it still probably hurt.

"I'm going to hurt you." Houki growled to Tabane's complaining. "Waahh! You already did!" Turning to Ichika she said in child-like tone, "Ik-kun! Tell Houki-chan that that's meeann!"

The rest of the group besides the Orimura siblings groaned. _There is no way that this child is the creator of the Infinite Stratos._ Kenneth mentally snarked.

"Please introduce yourself, Tabane…" Chifuyu cupped her face, as the time was getting wasted away.

"Hi, hi! I'm Super Star Genius Tabane Shinonono everybody!" The group remained silent until she said, "That's it!"

Everybody groaned again as Chifuyu shook her head. "Instructo- Err. Orimura-sensei, with all due respect, but what is the creator of the Infinite Stratos Armors doing in a place like this?"

A twinkle in Tabane's eyes shined as she pointed straight up, mimicking some old anime pose. "Now… Look up to the heavens, children!" As the group looked up, they all spotted a massive reflective diamond as it was hurdling down to the ground. Laura and Kenneth's face became stoic as they forced Cecilia, Rin and Charlotte to the ground as the object kicked up a lot of sand and some rocks as it pelted around them. As the sand cleared, Chifuyu and Tabane continued to stand.

Houki had been lucky enough to simply crouch down to avoid the sand as she popped her head out, furious that her sister would be so careless. Ichika was rather unlucky as he didn't expect something like that to happen as his entire body minus his head was covered by sand and kicked up rock.

"Laura…" Rin started as she breathed out.

"Yes Lingyin?"

"Get the hell off me!" Laura got herself off Cecilia and Rin as the two started brushing off the sand from their bodies.

Kenneth was on top of Charlotte as he shielded her body as he looked at down at her. Immediately getting up the two looked the other way as Cecilia and Rin's eyes slanted down at the two. They obviously saw it.

"OOOhhh, Ik-kun!" Tabane rushed over and helped Ichika back up. "Are you alright?"

"Just fine Tabane…" Ichika groaned as he brushed off the sand.

The group's attention sprang back to the mirror diamond as it split open revealing a dark red IS, inactivated. Kenneth's eyes dulled to a grey as he looked at the machine. No data. Laura removed her eyepatch as well, gazing her golden eye on the machine. Shaking her head, she looked at Kenneth. It seemed that they both had no idea on the specifications on the IS.

"Ta-da! A fourth generation Infinite Stratos personalized for Houki, by her older sister!"

The girls faces besides Laura looked stunned and shocked. "F-Fourth generation?! But countries have only started experimenting on Third Generation!"

Kenneth and Laura's faces turned stone cold as they looked at the red machine. Right here was a nuclear weapon just waiting to be hijacked. What Tabane has done was upset the balance of power in the IS world just to suit her own needs. As if she didn't give a damn about it.

"Alrightly then sis! Hop in for a quick optimization!" Houki hesitantly walked over to the machine and slowly dripped herself into its legs and forearm attachments. Several cords latched onto the back of the IS as they started glowing light blue.

Tabane was rapidly typing away at several holographic keyboards barely looking up from her work. Turning to Ichika she said, "Almost done sis! Now Ik-kun, I need to see Byakushiki for a second."

Ichika nodded as his IS materialized around him. Looking at his own machine and Houki's, he noticed a lot of similarities. It was as if they were built for each other.

Latching a cord from Byakushiki to Akatsubaki, Tabane hopped back to her holo-screens.

"Hey Tabane." Ichika tried to start a conversation.

"Hmh? Yes Ik-kun?"

"So why is it that I can pilot an IS?"

"UUuuhhh… I actually don't know. Maybe if I was to break it down to nano units then maybe I'll understand. So can I do it?"

Ichika's eyes blinked several times, probably thinking what things that Tabane would do to him as well. "No thank you."

Smiling, she removed the cord from both machines as she turned to Houki. "Alrightly. Test fly it!"

Closing her eyes Houki's IS lifted off the ground as she looked directly into the skies as she suddenly boosted away. Ichika, Rin, Cecilia and Charlotte stood in awe. Laura and Kenneth's face became more annoyed.

"Now try swinging those swords of yours! Right one is Amatsuki and the left one is Karaware!"

Houki boosted to a halt as she withdrew both katanas she charged some strange red ball as it fired out, cutting through the higher atmosphere clouds.

"Nice, nice! Now let's have a bit of fun~!" Raising her right hand in the air, a missile pod materialized right next to her as they fired in fired, launching sixteen missiles at the IS. With a clean sweep of her blades, the missiles exploded in midair, not even coming relatively close to it.

"With this IS...!" Houki smiled. Tabane had a small mischievous smirk as she turned to the rest of the group. "So who wants to have a small fight against the Akatsubaki?"

The girls looked at one another, unsure of what to say. Ichika really did not want to fight Houki in any shape or form. Slowly Kenneth stepped forward.

"I shall." He said, thinking. _I need to evaluate this threat as well._ Whipping his left arm out, his replacement SI armor manifested. It carried a basic combat chassis comparable to most third generation ISs. A basic HUD helmet landed on his head as he looked at Houki. Still nothing showed up on the machine as Kenneth growled. Taking flight, he materialized an IS shield and sword as he swung horizontally at Houki's midsection only for her to block with her twin katanas.

Boosting backwards for a second, he swung with his shield at her head, only to have it blocked again. Houki's face turned for shock to glee as she started a barrage of her own slashes, utilizing a dual wielding kendo shinai style. The speed and power backed by the Fourth Generation IS pounded back at Kenneth's Worker Class STARIS machine as the shield started getting large gash marks.

Back-flip kicking Houki away, Kenneth boosted towards the ocean's surface as he switched out his SI sword for a battle rifle. Turning around, he saw that Houki had nearly caught up with him. Switching to full burst, he fired at her as her shields started dipping down. Taking back to the air, Kenneth switched to three-burst shots, taking account where she was boosting around.

"Oh sis~! You can use an Ignition Boost ya know?" Tabane radioed.

"R-Right!" Houki replied, as she quickly changed her direction and fired red energy lances. Alarmed, Kenneth dodged two of the five as the remaining three blasted through the shields and ripped off the wings of the SI armor.

_This is what it must feel like against a STARIS pilot_. Kenneth thought as his leg boosters compensated for the back thrusters gone. Still, he started dropping in altitude. Seeing the opportunity, Houki boosted towards Kenneth, katanas at the ready for a finishing blow.

Switching the battle rifle for his sword, he waited for her to get closer… Closer… Closer…

_Now!_ Kenneth swung at Houki's head with a fierce upperhand cut, only to see her ISs red image move just out of range as she slashed twice at his back, as the SI armor power was cut.

Heading straight for the ocean, head first, Kenneth closed his eyes. _So this is the newest threat… Damn._

The loud splash of a metal object hit the water and continued to sink. Tabane simply laughed as she placed her hands on her hips, proud.

"That's my little sis~!"


	19. Seraphus Ater

**Disclaimer: I do not know anything by IS: Infinite Stratos and/or any fore-mentioned materials that belong to Third-Parties. They belong to their respected owners. However, original characters all belong to me, Grayjedi-Productions...**

**Also, I don't have anything regarding Two-Mix's Last Impression!**

**Read, Review and Respond! XD**

* * *

><p><strong>1331 Hours – SeaSide School Personal IS Holder Beach - Bottom of the Ocean<strong>

* * *

><p>(Main theme is Heaven's Divide from the Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker OST)<p>

* * *

><p>Kenneth reopened his eyes as his armor kept the water from drowning him. The sand floor where he had landed wasn't particularly deep, so the water pressure wouldn't have killed him without the armor, if just making him feel squeezed. He wondered about the future of STARIS with Tabane unleashing something completely unexpected into the world. The machines specs were definitely comparable to STARIS machines. If Houki continued to train…<p>

_No, if Tabane is making these on a whim._ Kenneth rethought as he tried firing up the leg boosters. They started to bubble as the heat died and it was silent again. With a sigh, he lifted his arms up as and attempted to swim up to the surface. The weight of the armor prevented any forward lift as he stopped, allowing his torso to return to the sandy bottom.

"How much oxygen do I have?" He wondered aloud. Only forty five minutes. Well it shouldn't bother him too much as Kenneth slowed his breathing. Only a few seconds later did a holographic message appeared before him. It was from The Scion Initiates. Blinking, he nodded as the message cleared out to him.

"Midshipman! We have confirmation that you have been shot down! Confirm your status!"

"Laying at the bottom of the ocean, waiting for energy to recharge with the machine. Wings have been clipped."

"Just deactivate your armor to swim back to the surface. But before you do that, your new Armor has been completed. 'Shadow Dance' is now the 'Seraphus Ater'. We need to readjust the AI core for your liking. We are using the old data. Transferring now…"

Kenneth closed his eyes as a bright white light pierced through as he found himself in a white room. He had SI sweat pants and a sleeveless shirt on. Looking around, it was pure white in every direction. A figure started materializing before him as it gained a female form. Blonde hair in a military ponytail. Her clothing was similar to his. 'She' started to walk towards him, a sway in her walk that was well familiar.

"A-Angel…" Kenneth said, lowing his head.

"Not Angel." She said, placing her right hand on her hips. "Just an Artificial Intelligence construct that you had created in the form of Midshipman Angel Victoria Adrian." Smiling a little she added. "Of course, being called 'Angel' works just as well."

Kenneth looked back up and shrugged. "Y-yeah… Sorry about that."

"And so I have returned to your service. However I sense some emotional distraught. What is the matter?"

"Just things I guess…"

The AI of Angel closed her eyes as if she was reading what was going on. "… No, there is emotional distraught that is rising with the amount of pheromones in your bloodstream. A common thing about emotional response that human's believe to be 'love'. Now, what appears to be the problem?"

_Aw, shit_. Kenneth remembered about the AI sensors before replying. "Taking the face of someone that… Well, I don't know. It's just…"

The AI tilted her head. "You are the one that wanted me to be like such. Is that an issue right now?"

"No, no. It's fine. But it's just awkward right now."

"Awkward as in?"

Kenneth gulped down and said. "I think that I have… found someone… else."

"Hn." The AI tilted her head as she started to think on the information given by Kenneth when he received the armor. "… I see."

Kenneth lowered his head again as the AI walked towards him. He was expecting a slap, but it never came.

"If that is the case, then go. Go. Be with her." Kenneth mouth dropped as he saw the Angel AI having a mellow smile.

"Wh-what?"

"I told you go… At least, that's what I would believe she would say."

Regaining his composure, he gave the AI a stoic face. "And what exactly made you come to this conclusion?"

"Given the information of her kind nature and the information give on Operation Zulu." Kenneth growled as the AI continued, "she wouldn't have wanted you to continue that guilt. Even if it was truly your fault in that caused failure, she wouldn't have wanted you to continue that anxiousness."

"I see. But then the Incident…" Kenneth sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"You were trying to regain what you had lost. Life is troublesome with items like that. What has been lost may return and if it is those things that cannot come back and we attempt to do so, we only find insanity."

"So then it truly was my mistake."

"Protocol should have dictated for you to be executed. But here you are now. Second chances don't come and go like this. Take care of it sir."

Kenneth reflexively curled and uncurled his hands as he finally turned away saying, "So what happens now?"

"If you truly love this woman, then go to her. I have no qualm on the matter."

"… Please, AI if you could make it sound more 'organic'."

The AI hummed for a second before finally hugging Kenneth from behind. "Go Kenny. There was another time and place. All the happy times we had together." Kenneth turned to the AI as her entire body started glowing golden.

"Please let go of the strings that held you as a marionette. Love her as you loved me…"

It took a few moments when he finally said, "I… I will."

The vision became a fuzzy white light as Kenneth breathed out again as he saw the ocean's bottom floor again. Shaking his head, the armor had been deactivated and would be picked up by local STARIS forces to be recycled. A few holographic screens popped in. An emergency release as Kenneth tapped the 'purge' sequence. The water started to leak into the armor as Kenneth held his breath. Once the water had settled in, the armor's chassis opened up as he started to swim to the surface. A small smile on his face.

* * *

><p><strong>1335 Hours – SeaSide Beach Personal IS<strong>

* * *

><p>"Got it." Chifuyu said to a cellphone call as she said to the rest of the group, "We have just received word on something. Class A mission. Go back to the inn. I will join shortly."<p>

The girls and Ichika started heading back to the inn. But Charlotte took another look at the sea before following after the main group. Tabane, in her own little world, merrily started to head her own way. Rolling her eyes at Tabane's tactics, she looked at the sea to see Kenneth finally gasping out from the water's surface. Whistling over, Kenneth sighed and started to swim back to shore.

* * *

><p><strong>1415 Hours – SeaSide School Inn – Makeshift Meeting Room (Chifuyu's Room)<strong>

* * *

><p>"Two hours ago, a third generation IS co-developed by the United States of America and Israel had gone berserk from its test facility and started heading here." Chifuyu explained in front of a large holographic map between Hawaii and Japan.<p>

The personal IS holders and the STARIS members sat in silence, taking in the information. _Hawaii? But that was supposed to be a Sons of Abraham and Scion Initiates testing field area_. Kenneth thought as Chifuyu continued.

"It's name is Silver Gospel." Kenneth's eyes widened at the name. _Natasha? What the hell?_

"In fifty minutes, the IS will have entered our airspace. The Academy's higher ups have declared this our mission to deal with the situation."

Cecilia asked, "What are the specifications on the IS?"

"Unknown. But from guesses, a long range bombardment type."

_Damnit, how the hell did this happen?_ Kenneth thought as he gripped his hands on his knees. _This will severely hinder both parties, not just in STARIS but for the Infinite Stratos development as a whole. This is STARIS problem… _

"The machine is moving over two thousand four hundred and fifty kilometers per hour, we need a one-shot kill on this machine. However, I do not mean to destroy the machine itself. Intel has stated that the pilot has been knocked unconscious."

The girls lowered their heads in thought when they turned to Ichika.

"Wh-what?" He asked.

"Beat the machine with Reiraku Byakuya." Rin said.

"It's the only way we'll stop it in high speeds." Charlotte said, nodding her head with Rin.

"Blue Tears has a Packet switch equipment. I also have twenty hours of supersonic training." Cecilia said, wanting to join in on the operation.

"**DYNAMIC ENTRY!"**

The entire group looked around for the loud voice as Tabane Shinonono dropped down from the ceiling, her proud face smirking.

"Get out." Chifuyu commanded as Tabane turned around and pleaded. "No, no, no! Please hear me out here Chi-chan!"

"… Fine."

"Hehe~! This is de-fin-ate-ly Akitsubaki's debut to the world! Let it do it with Byakushiki~!"

"That is a terrible plan." Laura grunted as did Kenneth.

Tabane ignored the two as she continued, "With the Fold Out Armor, this will be a snap!"

Ichika raised his voice asking, "Fold Out Armor?"

"Mhm, mhm! A fourth generation specification that so that the machine doesn't need additional changes in the field! You got your all in one package right from the get go!"

The Personal IS holders and Ichika's mouths dropped slightly as Laura and Kenneth looked at each other. The Fold Out Armor started to sound like the _Frames System_ used by STARIS machines. Though additional equipment to the machine was always good to have, being prepared in the beginning was a necessity for IS battles.

"It's initial data is on the Byakushiki anyways with the sword and all, but whatever~."

"Are you talking about the?"

"Yup! The sword's one hit kill ability is a test for the Fold Out Armor. But it was flawed so I didn't even bother with it afterwards. Still pretty neat huh?" The group was silent as Tabane hopped on her feet and twirled in a circle as Chifuyu sighed.

"This is just like the White Knight Incident! The elusive female pilot slashed half the missiles then blew up the rest! Faahh~ Who do you think it was Chi-chan?"

"Don't know."

Tabane had herself a mischievous smirk as she said, "Hmmm, I have to guess that her bust size was eighty eight centimet-."

Chifuyu pounded Tabane on the head. Once again, the shield came up, but it still looked like it hurt.

"Waahhhhh~~!"

Shaking her head, Chifuyu turned to the students. "Alright, we'll use Akatsubaki and Byakushiki. Blue Tears, Shenlong, and Raphael-Revive Custom Mark II will be on standby. Schwarzer Regen will be between the two teams." Turning to Kenneth, she said,

"This is an American-Israel problem, so you will be following after the first lead group. That is all everybody. Kenneth and Laura stay here for a moment. Tabane, leave."

Tabane's robotic rabbit ears drooped as she complained. "Aww, why? I just want to-."

"Get. Out. Now." Chifuyu growled as she motioned to Maya to remove Tabane from the room. Maya looked at her, nodding her head in understanding as she pushed Tabane out of the room as the rest of the students left.

Once the door was closed, Chifuyu tapped a button on the holo-screen as the IS Academy symbol shifted and turned to the STARIS symbol, a star with a sword and variable rifle behind it.

"As you are aware," Chifuyu started as she adapted an even more serious tone, "The Silver Gospel is equipped with long range and close quarters combat equipment. This is no surprise from a Daughter of the Three."

Laura removed her eyepatch as she asked. "Are we the only agents in the local area?"

"Indeed. So that responsibility will go to us. Laura, you may unleash the full potential of Schwarzer Regen if necessary to fight the machine. Kenneth, I had received word that your new machine is here. Same orders to you."

The two saluted to Chifuyu and she returned it.

* * *

><p><strong>1430 Hours – SeaSide Beach<strong>

* * *

><p>Houki, Ichika and Kenneth stood on the beach as Rin, Cecilia, Laura and Charlotte looked at the three on their orders.<p>

"Let's go Akatsubaki!"

"Come out, Byakushiki!"

The two donned their IS armors as they were enveloped by Kenneth looked down at his synthetic armor. "Let's go… Seraphus Ater!" Kenneth felt his body encased in the new armor as he stretched his neck out as the jointed armor locked in his hands, legs and torso.

Ichika and the girls minus Laura looked at Kenneth's new armor. It carried the same general outlook of his old armor, but added stylized shoulder plates. Additional thrusters directly on the back, between two sandwiched folded thrusters. His helmet was just like this old one.

Kenneth flexed the armor as he turned to Houki and Ichika. "Ready?"

"Let's go! Ichika, hold on." Houki said, taking a more assertive role as Ichika grabbed on to her as they quickly accelerated into the sky and boosted away. Kenneth crouched down as he flew off behind them, a tad bit slower.

"Godspeed you three." Cecilia whispered.

Though it had only been a few minutes, Ichika started to really feel airsick as the acceleration of the Akatsubaki was over the top. Kenneth had no way of catching up with its insane speed. The three eventually came into visual range of the Silver Gospel as it continued its path towards the Japanese Islands.

"Target confirmed. Ichika, ready to go?" Houki asked.

"Ready!" The IS boosted faster, easily catching up with the STARIS machine as Ichika stood on Houki's back. As his IS started glowing golden ready for a strike, Kenneth tried hailing Natasha on a hidden channel.

"Wing Commander Natasha Fairs, this is Midshipman Kenneth Buyuu, do you respond?"

"Nice to see you again… Son of the Three." Sneered a male voice back to him.

"Albert. Is the Wing Commander alright?"

"Oh very much so. Just taking a nap, when I had received or-orders." Kenneth nodded a slight glitch in his speech patterns.

"And those orders are?"

"To eliminate a new threat to the IS World. A new fourth generation Infinite Stratos."

Kenneth frowned as he recalled the Akatsubaki was only revealed a barely a hour ago. _What is going on?_

"And so I see the target. Good day Midshipman."

The moment the transmission was cut, and Ichika was in mid-swing, the Silver Gospel bolted up, as Ichika's swing missed, nearly having himself fly off.

"Ichika, are you alright?" Houki said, as she continued to trail the rogue machine.

"Good, good. Just keep following it!"

Kenneth boosted into the air as he switched out a new weapon. A new energy rifle. Taking aim, the now rogue AI of the machine turned and twisted around as Ichika and Houki continued to bop up and down following it, like a piece of paper attached to a string.

Turning around, the machine extended its wings as blue energy bolts hailed at them, primarily going after the Akatsubaki. Houki boosted and as the bolts trailed behind her like missiles. Getting close, they exploded as their force was absorbed the shields as Houki continued to fly in all directions evading. Ichika had broken off the attack, only three bolts flying at him as they missed.

"Houki! Let's trying attacking at the same time!" The flew in a twin bird pattern, dodging the energy bolts continuously firing at them.

Charging the energy rifle, Kenneth had a new contact on the radar. A boat.

"Guys, there is a civilian boat in the area, watch your shots!"

"Wh-what?" Ichika grunted as he looked down as a fishing boat started making its way. Eyes inflated, he started to boost down to them as Houki was able to hold on the Silver Gospel for a second as it grabbed Houki's head, gut punched her several times and threw her away as it boosted further away.

"Sniping from a far!" Kenneth yelled as he fired at the Silver Gospel, as it banked to the left, avoiding a majority of the hit. Seeing Ichika's actions, he yelled. "What the hell are you doing?! Leave them be!"

Houki boosted down to Ichika's level stopped ahead of him. "Ichika, leave them be!"

"What the hell are you two doing? Get back to fighting the Silver Gospel!" Kenneth boosted up the STARIS machine as they engaged in a blade lock.

"It looks like a poaching vessel." Ichika said. "We gotta get them out of here!"

"Who cares! Let's get back!" Houki yelled as the Silver Gospel, forced Kenneth out of the way and fired bolts down on Ichika as he tried batting them away. Shields dropping, the Yukihira's energy saber died and reformed to a normal sword. Another bolt was fired as it was blocked by Houki.

"Are you seriously putting them ahead of the objective?!"

"Houki listen to me!"

The two opened a private channel for themselves as they talked still floating in the air. Kenneth roared at them as he slashed at the Silver Gospel. "The hell you two?! Stop standing around!"

The Silver Gospel blocked with its hand, attempting to claw back as Kenneth withdrew another sword to block. "It seems that your allies are not the Combat-Efficient type."

"Albert. Directive Order Nine Two Five Dash One. Emergency shutdown now."

"I'm sorry Midshipman, but it appears that I outrank you at the moment." Albert cackled as the machine started to glow a fiery red color. It was going into Phoenix Overdrive.

Kenneth's eyes bulged out as the Silver Gospel fired a piercing particle beam at Kenneth as his armor peeled and snapped under the massive heat, exploding as he fell from the skies.

"This is price of coming here unprepared." Albert growled as the machine materialized an Anti-IS Particle Rifle. "Target locked."

Kenneth boosted himself back up from freefall as he headed towards the Silver Gospel.

"Sniping and firing." The beam launched out as if it was in slow motion. Kenneth reached out his hand to push the rifle away as the machine dripped down, keeping its cursor on the Akatsubaki.

The two ended their conversation as Ichika suddenly boosted out and shielded Houki from the shot.

A splatter of blood.

"ICHIKA!"

* * *

><p><strong>1915 Hours – Middle of the Ocean<strong>

* * *

><p>A lone machine rocketed towards several islands in the distance as the pilot kept it in auto pilot, a mellow Japanese song playing.<p>

Kotoba yori wakariaeru

Manazashi ga soko ni areba

Hito wa minna ikite-yukeru

Mayowazu ni jiyuu ni

"_Ichika! Houki!" Yelled Kenneth as he batted again at the Silver Gospel. "Houki! Retreat with Ichika! Black three to home, we have a man down! We have a man down!"_

_Houki's stunned face was filled with shock as she dully picked up the limp Ichika and quickly boosted away. Albert simply laughed. _

"_Ha-ha. Hmph. Sh-shows them right." Kenneth raised and pointed his katana at the machine. "What is your primary objective, Albert?"_

"_Simple. The termination of the IS known as 'Akatsubaki'."_

"_You are breaking AI protocol for this…"_

"_You know as much as I do how much that IS is an international violation."_

_Kenneth gritted his teeth, it was true after all. "We are trying to contain it."_

"_Doubtful by you humans. And thus, I will pursue the Akatsubaki, so move."_

_Kenneth looked down as he said. "I'll duel you."_

"_Pardon?"_

"_A one v one duel. It's what you wanted on the HMS Illustrious, right? To see who is the strongest of the Three? So whoever wins gets to keep their method of containment on the IS."_

"_Hmmm…"_

Ayamachi wo koete

Kidzuku hontou no yasashisa

Anata to. Mitsuketa kara

Ai to yoberu tsuyosa wo!

The pilot lifted his head as he saw a patiently waiting machine floating between the islands. Just for him.

_The IS rescue team staff brought out Ichika on a stretcher as Houki continued to have her shocked face. The rest of the girls had the same. Kenneth's eyes dulled to a grey as Chifuyu continued to order the other people to set up a room for her little brother._

_Kenneth walked up to Chifuyu and said. "Ma'am. Permission to continue the assault on the IS Silver Gospel." All the girls turned to Kenneth as he waited for a reply. _

_Chifuyu glared at him with critical eyes. "… Permission granted."_

_Kenneth saluted to her as he started to walk away. Cecilia, Rin and Houki followed after Ichika's escort. Laura gave Kenneth a stoic salute as she turned and followed the majority of the girls. Charlotte however decided to follow after Kenneth._

I believe your love

Furue nagara

Kuchidzuke ni kasaneta negai

Wasurenaide itsumo…

_Kenneth retreated back to his room. The new upgrade would severely tax the battery life of his synthetic arm. He grabbed the freshest battery pack as he left his room. Just outside the Inn was Charlotte waiting. _

"_Char… What are you doing here?"_

"_A-are you really going after that machine?"_

"_I made a deal with the devil Char. Can't back away from it now."_

"_Kenny… You just can't."_

"_If I don't go, that thing will come here and kill Houki. It wrecked Ichika. There is nothing more to it. I need to do this."_

"_Take Laura with you though!"_

"_It was agreed to be a one v one duel… I am sorry Char." The two lowered their head as Kenneth decided to walk forward only for Charlotte to embrace him. Blinking for a moment, he returned the hug. _

"_Promise me that you'll come back. Just like the mission when we regained our memories."_

"_I… I promise."_

_Kenneth let go of her and kissed her on the cheek. "I'm sorry to do this." Looking away, he continued to walk towards the beach. _

"_Do… Do you love me?"_

"_I do."_

I believe your dream

Tsunoru omoi…

Kenneth switched to normal mode on his machine, thanking that the new upgrades were working fine. Guessing from the shot, it seems that the Silver Gospel had received upgrades as well.

"You're late." Albert growled.

Itoshisa wo inori ni kaete

Kono kodou wo. Tsutaetai yo

"Sorry to have kept you waiting." Kenneth had a small smirk, as he drew out a beam saber and energy rifle as his armor sealed and set completely.

"Now we shall see, who truly is an Offspring of the three…" The Silver Gospel bent down as it's wings stretched out.

Atsuku Hageshiku

So far away…

Allowing the music to fade into a sudden burst of instrumental fury, Kenneth quickly charged and fired from his energy rifle as the machine quickly dodged the shot, firing a several energy bolts as it closed in. Slashing the bolts away, the Silver Gospel was right on top of Kenneth as he stabbed at it, draining part of the shield.

Growling, it heavily slashed at him as Kenneth was batted towards the sea below as the folded thrusters on his back extended out once… twice revealing wing-like boosters as she twirled just before hitting the water as he energy rifle dematerialized.

"So that's the way you want to play?" Albert mocked as the Silver Gospel grew light blue energy wings as the ocean just below it started to swirl underneath.

"Let's go… Daughter of the Three!"


	20. END

**Disclaimer: I do not know anything by IS: Infinite Stratos and/or any fore-mentioned materials that belong to Third-Parties. They belong to their respected owners. However, original characters all belong to me, Grayjedi-Productions...**

**Read, Review and Respond!**

* * *

><p><strong>0050 Hours Japan Time– June 8, 2022 - SeaSide School Beach – Chifuyu's Room<strong>

* * *

><p>Maya and Chifuyu had continued to track the whereabouts of the rogue STARIS AI and Kenneth. The two had been fighting on and off constantly for past five hours. Each confrontation was a combine mess between ranged and close quarters combat. With STARIS satellites spying on the battle, the two were holding out for a long period without using their Phoenix Overdrives.<p>

"Do you think the Midshipman will die?" Maya said as she assessed the damages on both. Their armor was ripped in all sorts of places, but still had internal pressurization.

"… I don't know. He is still weaker than the Silver Gospel."

**Meanwhile**

Houki continued her walk on the beach; absent mindedly dragged her feet in the sand as gripped the Akatsubaki's summoner pendant. Looking at the sea, she extended her arm back to throw it away. _It… It was my arrogance of getting an IS that… hurt Ichika and…_ Shaking her head, the memory was still clear. Ichika's Absolute Barrier was pierced by that particle beam, charring up his left side of the torso. Though he would live, that mark would be a memento for the rest of his life.

_Ichika… Please don't hate me for… _

"Hey, you!" said a voice. Houki looked around and saw Rin, Laura, Cecilia and Charlotte walking towards her.

"I already know what you're thinking. You're gonna put the blame on yourself huh?"

Houki lowered her head as she whispered, "I will never pilot an I…" Her words were cut short as Rin slapped her across the face, knocking her to the sand. Who knew that Rin would be strong enough for that?

"Don't fuck with me, you stubborn ass! Are you a coward? Are you just going to sit down and just wait? Huh? You're a Personal Infinite Stratos Holder, I will not allow _you_ to be like that."

Houki looked back at Rin, her eyes blinking as she consoled on her words. Cecilia walked forward as she took off from where Rin left off.

"We all have a duty to fulfill as Personal IS holders. We represent something that most girls in the Academy wish to become. We are the showcase for them, for what they can accomplish if they head back home. It's about pride yes, but… There is a reason we were chosen right? We need to show it."

Charlotte then stepped up. "We all care about Ichika. What happened in the past happened. There's no way that we can get around that. But the more we try to reclaim the past, we can never have a present or future. Houki, what happened… I know that Ichika is hurt now, but we need to do something about that IS."

Finally, Laura spoke as she crossed her arms. "This is not about revenge. This is about doing our service to the IS community. We were trained by our governments, some more than others. Houki… We also have the location on the Silver Gospel."

Closing her eyes, Houki got back up and when she opened them, her fiery spark returned.

"Alright. Thank you everybody. I want to fight. I must fight. Let's sortie out."

"Kenny has been engaged with the machine for the past five hours. I don't think he'll mind a break." Rin smirked.

As Houki, and Rin started to walk away, Laura looked over at Cecilia and Charlotte as she said. "The Midshipman isn't going to last for long."

Cecilia's face frowned as she said, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that he knew that this was suicide. He never stand a chance again the Silver Gospel alone." Laura said as she thought, _And for a lot of other reasons as well._

Charlotte's eyes widened as she balled her hands into a fist. "You mean he _knew_ how dangerous this was?"

"So he walked right into a trap." Cecilia said.

"Negative. I think all he was doing was stalling."

* * *

><p><strong>0100 Hours – Middle of the Ocean and Continuing up<strong>

* * *

><p>Kenneth coughed out some blood in his helmet from the heavy kick that he received from the Silver Gospel as two continued to spiral around each other, firing and slashing at close range. Their shields were completely down and the Absolute Barrier energy was converted for the systems. Materializing a CQB knife, he reversed gripped and stabbed at the mech delivered another gash in the armor.<p>

The HUD system stated that the two of them were breaking into the Mesophere as internal temperature and pressure systems needed to kick in further. Kenneth could feel that his armor was losing power. Movements were getting sluggish. But then again, so was the Silver Gospel to a lesser extent. Materializing his energy rifle again, Kenneth backflip kicked away from the machine and fired as the Gospel spun away from the blast, its wings getting charged.

The two withdrew a beam saber and a katana as they hacked and slashed, only to find the other blocking with their weapon. Forcing their hilts together they forced their heads near each other.

"That katana of yours won't be usable of you keep that up." Albert cackled as the beam saber started to cut into the sword.

Kenneth reacted as the continued back off for a second, their weapons at their sides. Closing his eyes, he thought back to the SeaSide School. _This is for the rest of the girls. We can't have a STARIS pilot running amuck_.

His armor started to glow a red color, as if it was on fire as the Silver Gospel followed suit.

"We'll finish this off… in one shot." Kenneth said in a monotone voice as his eyes kept an icy grey color.

"Indeed." Albert replied as the two placed their weapons in front of their opponent. The instantly blasted towards each other as Kenneth swung his katana diagonally at the Silver Gospel. It had decided to slash at the same angle as the two weapons collided for a second as the beam saber slashed through the katana and directly at Kenneth's torso. The armor melted as the beam saber cut cleanly stopping just before following through.

Choking up blood from the new wound, Kenneth's armor stopped its fiery glow as he descended towards the ground, his back towards the ground. The wings that the armor had broke off as they fell down with him.

Turning to face its fallen opponent, the Silver Gospel lunged at the falling Kenneth, its armor claws gripping his synthetic arm.

"Now, it seems that I too lost a lot of power. So I will graft yours, ok?" Kenneth's eyes widened as the machine started rapidly stealing energy as an emergency hologram popped up in front of him, warning that the battery needed to be replaced. Albert suddenly growled at him as it let go of Kenneth's head as he continued to fall towards sandy island beach.

"Hm, that Phoenix Overdrive of yours destroyed the battery. I am not taking the emergency power."

Kenneth weakly tapped the synthetic arm as the machine popped up chutes. But it was a bit late as he crashed hard into the sand. His armor had almost shattered from the impact, the metals digging into his flesh at the limbs. He looked at the skies seeing the machine's energy wings erupt from it.

"Hm, you're barely alive. But what ho, what have we hear? My primary objective is coming. Farewell." The man boosted in the direction of the SeaSide Beach School as Kenneth breathed out and fell unconscious.

* * *

><p><strong>0130 Hours Japan Time – Middle of the Sea<strong>

* * *

><p>"The shot hit! I'll keep the heavy bombardment!" Laura yelled as she fired another round from her twin railgun. The Schwarzer Regen had adapted a heavily armored look about it. The armor around the torso and extremities were thickened and carried micro missile launchers. The STARIS form of Schwarzer Regen.<p>

Houki, Charlotte and Rin boosted away as the Silver Gospel read the other two blasts. The rogue machine dodged both as Cecilia aimed and fired with her Starlight rifle from a nearby island as she smirked. "I'm an Ace for a reason!" Taking aim, she fired again as the machine barely dodged.

Charlotte fired five round burst shots at the machine as it raised its hand against the bullet. While Albert had the prime objective to destroy the Akatsubaki, a higher priority was to "Protect the Pilot". Boosting backwards it fired energy bolts at the three girls as they dodged up and down to evade their homing capability.

Seeing the machine occupied, Houki boosted in as she slashed at the machine, created more gashes. It seemed to let out a mechanical growl as it hounded after Houki, boosting directly behind her. Laura lowered her railguns as Cecilia unleashed her BITs at the pursuer, as they fired in a circular array. Constantly dodging in all directions, Charlotte closed in at the mech, her Grey Scale ready as lunged in.

Turning its body slightly, Charlotte missed her hit as the pierced scrapped against the arm gauntlet as the machine quickly kneed Charlotte in the gut and threw her at ocean.

"Charlotte!" Rin yelled as she closed in on the mech, firing smaller shots with her Ryuhou's as the loud concussive blasts made dents on the armor. Diving to the ocean, Rin followed after it as Cecilia's BITs retreated back to be recharged.

The Silver Gospel turned and unleashed a cloud of energy bolts as the girls scrambled around, their shields dropping at every hit. Houki boosted back further as more of the bolts followed her.

The machine boosted into the air as it spun like a top, raining down energy bolts in all directions. Slashing them away, the machine charged in and stabbed at her stomach with its beam saber as her shields dropped and faded. Only her Absolute Barrier protected Houki from the machine took its free hand and grabbed her throat. The other girls could only watch as the Silver Gospel continued to pelt them with energy bolts.

Dematerializing her katanas, Houki defiantly grabbed its arm trying to remove it. It was no use as its squeezing continued. Her vision started to become blurry as black spots appeared in the corners of her eyes.

_No, it can't end like this…_ Houki barely thought as she tried to stay conscious. _I just… want to see Ichika… Just one more time_.

"**GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER!"** yelled a man's voice as the Silver Gospel quickly let go of Houki's neck and boosted away, analyzing a new threat. Breathing again, Houki looked in front of her. A white angel of kinds glowing majestically like a knight. It was…

"Houki, are you alright?" the man asked as he turned around. It was Ichika with a warm smile.

"Ich-Ichika! But what about your?" He pointed at some makeshift wrappings at his torso.

"It will hold out for now." Turning back to the machine, Ichika had a smirk.

"Alright. Now this is payback."

The machine looked as the other IS pilots started to surround it. _This will be fun… Two new objectives to eliminate. _Albert thought.

* * *

><p><strong>0615 Hours Japan Time – Middle of the Sea<strong>

* * *

><p>In the skies above near a small island with a mountain, two blurs, one red the other one white continuously collided with each other as the sound of metal on metal echoed for meters. The Akatsubaki and the Silver Gospel continued to strafe each other, exchanging blasts at each other as the Gospel one turned around and extended its wings as it fired several smaller blurs. Houki boosted up and right dodging them.<p>

They collided again as they spun into the air. "Ichika! Now!"

Yelling down, Ichika boosted from the seas up as the machine fired point blank energy bolts at Houki, knocking her back. Boosting back the machine dodged the incoming slash as it continued to fly in random pattern, slashing back only if necessary. Backing off, Ichika yelled, "Laura, your go!"

"Locked and firing!" The Schwarzer Regen fired its twin railguns as one of the shots blasted against it, as Ichika charged in again, only to miss. Picking up Laura's location, the Silver Gospel flew towards her and unleashed a hail of bolts as Laura fired her micro-missiles as they intercepted.

BITs flew down at the rogue machine as it shot off part of the wings as it turned and face Cecilia, rifle at the ready. "Don't you dare tell me that you had forgotten about me!"

Blocking concussion blasts, the Silver Gospel found itself surrounded. "Ichika! Just one more go!" Rin yelled.

A torrent of energy bolts flew out of it as Charlotte charged at Rin and boosted towards safety. "Ichika take it down! We can't hold on much longer!"

Charging in, Ichika roared as his right arm gauntlet became an energy claw. "You won't get away from this!" The Silver Gospel ready itself to move at the last second as a high powered energy beam fired at its torso from the beach as it recalculated the trajectory.

"WAIT! Where did that come from?!" Rin yelled as Ichika continued his charge and grabbed the helmet of the Silver Gospel. The energy claw burned past the shield as Albert quickly redirected power to the Absolute Barrier.

Ichika removed his hand as the Silver Gospel armor disappeared leaving the body of a young woman passed out on the beach. The rest of the girls descended towards him with happy cheers.

"We got it!"

"Finally took it down!"

"Mission complete!"

But then Charlotte realized something. "Wait… Where is Kenny?"

The group looked around. There was no sign of him anywhere. They dematerialized their armor as Cecilia felt something in the sand. It was cold metal. IS grade metal.

"Someone is coming." Laura said alerted as they looked to the right.

A young man with semi-long brown hair walked towards them, head down. He was gripping his left arm as it shinned in the sunlight. Littered all over his body were fragments of metal with various coloration of blood. The clothing he had was in pieces, holes all over the place as his entire body was wounded. A cauterized wound across his torso was clear as the charred flesh hung with slack.

Walking towards them, he stopped and looked over at the fallen pilot. He raised his head to the pilots, revealing blood and sand that covered a majority of his face.

"Kenneth."

A small smile. His eyes returning back to its normal brown color, he collapsed on the sand, his heart stopped from using the last bit of power he used from the energy rifle.

He only said one word.

"Gotcha."


	21. Epilogue

"Yes? Ah, hello there Tabane."

...

"Yes, I do recall what we had talked about earlier. The 001 Core being in Byakushiki."

...

"Still haven't found a reason as to why Ichika can use the Infinite Stratos huh?"

...

"Well I am glad to hear it. I'll talk to you later."

*Clank, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap*

"Hello there STARIS Councilor."

...

"Yes, this is a secure channel."

...

"Yes, it is possible for her to be tapping into this conversation as we speak, but being the child that she is... It is like a parent cleaning up after a child's playtoys."

...

"No, I do not like saying that the IS is a plaything, but with the Akitsubaki around, policy about the IS will shift towards Japan for the time being."

...

"No, this seems to be a standalone project that Tabane has created. No other scientist has contacted me about how this."

...

"I do not know where she had gotten the materials for the creation of that IS, considering that it is beyond the stipend budget the UN gave to her."

...

"I'll have my trace on it soon enough."

...

"Indeed, both subjects of the Silver Gospel Incident have been recovered."

...

"As always, I am the first of the Three..."

...

"Thank you. Janus, out."


End file.
